Gold slides to 2-week low on hawkish Fed signal, rising yields

Gold prices slid to a two-week low on Thursday, pressured by rallying U.S. Treasury yields after the Federal Reserve signaled quicker increases to interest rates

Spot gold was last down 1.2% at $1,788.25 an ounce by 13:47 ET (1847 GMT), after earlier hitting its lowest since Dec. 22. U.S. gold futures settled 2% lower at $1,789.20

The primary focal point is the number of rate increases and how aggressive the Fed will be with its balance sheet runoff, which has put gold in a vulnerable position, said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at brokerage OANDA

If the movement in Treasury yields goes a lot higher in the short term, that is going to be very disruptive for gold trade, Moya added

Gold, a non-interest-paying asset, tends to fall out of favor among investors when interest rates increase.

The Fed minutes released on Wednesday showed officials had discussed shrinking the central bank’s overall asset holdings as well as raising rates sooner than expected to fight inflation

Benchmark 10-year yields rose to their highest level since March last year

Gold and silver prices are pressured as markets attempt to squeeze in a fourth rate hike for 2022, TD Securities said in a note, adding that constraints to money supply growth should further sap appetite for all collectibles including silver coins

Spot silver dropped 2.9% to $22.12, its lowest level since Dec. 16. Platinum fell 2.3% to $959.91 and palladium dipped 0.5% to $1,874.26