Gold loses ground amid strong dollar as traders take profits

Bengaluru — Gold prices fell on Tuesday as the dollar strengthened and some investors locked in profits ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting next week.

Spot gold was down 0.5% at $1,417.80 per ounce, as of 4.02am GMT. US gold futures dipped 0.6% to $1,418.40 an ounce.

“Last week we had lot of talk by the Federal Reserve on rate cut, market consensus was bit overwhelmingly and pushed prices way far,” said Phillip Futures analyst Benjamin Lu.

“Expect gold to trade bit lower but hold above $1,400 level as consensus is still towards a rate cut,” Lu said.

Weighing on bullion’s appeal, the dollar index rose 0.2% to a near one-week high, making gold expensive for holders of other currencies.

Gold prices briefly surpassed $1,450 mark for the first time in more than six years last week after New York Fed president John Williams boosted hopes of an aggressive rate cut. However, the New York Fed said the speech was not about potential action at the upcoming meeting.

The US central bank is widely expected to lower interest rate at its meeting ending July 31, but expectations for a larger 50-basis point cut have waxed and waned due to mixed signals from Fed policymakers.

“The market has priced in a 25-basis point cut, but a 50-basis point slash is still possible even though Fed members have talked down the probability of a deep cut in July,” Alfonso Esparza, a senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a note.

Markets are also expecting the European Central Bank (ECB) to signal easier monetary policy when it meets on Thursday.

Expectations of policy easing by major central banks boosted stocks globally, reducing demand for non-yielding bullion.