Gold futures fell Thursday, trading near a two-month low, as a firm U.S. dollar continued to pressure the metal.
Gold for June delivery
GC00,
GCM22,
fell $18.20, or 1%, to $1,835 an ounce, after bouncing off its lowest close since mid-February in the previous session. July silver
SIN22,
fell 63 cents, or 2.9%, to $20.95 an ounce.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY,
a measure of the currency against a basket of six major rivals, was up 0.4%, trading near a 20-year high. A strong dollar is seen as a negative for commodities priced in the unit, making them more expensive to users of other currencies.
On the inflation front, wholesale prices slowed to 11% in April over the past year from 11.5%, the government said Thursday, still showing intense inflationary pressures in the guts of the U.S. economy. The April consumer-price index reading on Wednesday suggested inflation may have peaked, but still came in at a hotter than expected annual rate of 8.3%.
Another high reading on inflation ahead of the Fed’s next meeting in June could lead the central bank to consider a larger 75 basis point rate increase rather than the 50 basis point move that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has said was on the table for the next two meetings, said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades, in a note.
“Against such a backdrop, any gold strength resulting from the precious metal’s role as safe haven and inflation hedge is likely to remain capped by the rampant U.S. dollar,” he said.
In other metals on Comex, July copper
HGN22,
fell 2.6% to $4.10 a pound. July platinum
PLN22,
was down 4.5% to $946.10 an ounce, while June palladium
PAM22,
slumped 6.3% to $1,880.50 an ounce.
