Gold dips as dollar firms, Fed rate hike looms

Gold prices slipped on Monday, as an elevated dollar and prospects of an aggressive interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve this week dented demand for non-yielding bullion.

Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,722.84 per ounce, as of 0110 GMT, after rising to a more than one-week high on Friday.

U.S. gold futures fell 0.5% to $1,718.70 per ounce.

The dollar rose 0.1% against its rivals, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.

The U.S. central bank will conclude a two-day meeting on Wednesday, and markets are pricing in a 75-basis-point rate hike to combat soaring inflation.

Although gold is seen as a hedge against inflation, rising interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding bullion.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday that the U.S. economic growth was slowing and she acknowledged the risk of a recession, but she said a downturn was not inevitable.

Last week, the European Central Bank joined its global peers in the fight against soaring inflation as it raised interest rates by 50 bps.

The European Central bank will raise its interest rates until inflation falls back to its 2% target, President Christine Lagarde said in an interview with Germany’s Funke Mediengruppe published on Friday.

Spot silver was down 0.6% at $18.48 per ounce, platinum dipped 0.6% to $868.62, and palladium slipped 1.5% to $1,999.94.