Gold oscillated between gains and losses on Wednesday as fresh US strikes on Iran pushed oil prices and the dollar higher, stoking inflation concerns that weighed on bullion ahead of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting minutes.
Spot gold was up 0.5 per cent at $4,125.59 per ounce by 03:05 GMT, having earlier touched its lowest level since July 2. August US gold futures fell 0.5 per cent to $4,136.30.
Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive, said the past 24 hours had brought renewed inflation anxiety. “As a result, bond prices fell, the dollar rose a little, and gold came off — and now it appears to be stabilising after this correction,” he said. “At this stage, we’re watching gold try to find its low.”
The US military launched a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday, and Washington revoked a licence that had allowed the Islamic Republic to sell oil, after three tankers were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz. US crude jumped around 3 per cent in early trading, Treasury yields rose, and the dollar held near its weekly highs against most currencies.
Markets are now pricing more than a 63 per cent probability that the Fed will raise interest rates in September, up from roughly 57 per cent the previous day, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. Investors are also watching for clues in the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s June 16–17 meeting, due later Wednesday, about the rate path under new Fed chair Kevin Warsh.
Among other precious metals, silver gained 0.8 per cent to $60.47 per ounce. Platinum fell 0.3 per cent to $1,635.45, while palladium dropped 0.6 per cent to $1,268.64.
