Gold slipped 1% on Monday, with a dip in the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields offering little respite as U.S. equities gained, which dulled bullion’s appeal.
Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,738.93 per ounce. U.S. gold futures settled 0.2% down at $1,738.1.
“Gold should be higher yet it’s not. That really speaks to a weak market if normal correlations (like a weaker dollar) are not holding up,” said David Madden, analyst at CMC Markets UK, adding gold could slip further if the dollar and yields advance.
Gold fell as much as 1% during the session as investors flocked to the dollar and government bonds, spooked by Turkey’s decision to replace its central bank head with a critic of high interest rates.
“If (Turkish) citizens are concerned that the lira is weak, they’d look to buy U.S. dollars or gold, but this is where the fear comes – that capital controls will stop money coming into the country …it could be tricky for people to get their hands on dollars, and in turn gold, in the next few weeks,” CMC’s Madden said.
Gains on Wall Street also pressured gold.
“Traders want to see gold above $1,750 and hold there before you start to see new money coming into this trade,” said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist, RJO Futures, adding the U.S Federal Reserve’s low-interest rate policy could boost prices by year-end.
Elsewhere, palladium dropped 1.1% to $2,606.24 per ounce and platinum shed 1.1% to $1,182.87. Russia’s Nornickel, a major palladium producer, shut a metallurgical processing facility in Russia’s border region with Norway and Finland to curb emissions.
The issues at Nornickel could “push the palladium market into a wider deficit this year which, combined with strong demand from tightening emissions standards, could keep prices elevated,” Heraeus Precious Metals said in a note.
