WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices fell on Thursday as the dollar firmed amid bets of further tightening by the Federal Reserve, and on concerns about economic slowdown.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell made it clear that inflationary pressures continue to run high, and the tightening has 'a long way to go'.
The Bank of England (BoE) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) raised interest rates today, pledging to continue their fight against inflation.
The BoE raised its rates by larger than expected 50 basis points, while the SNB announced a 25-basis point hike.
The dollar index climbed to 102.47, gaining nearly 0.4%.
Gold futures for August ended down $21.20 at $1,923.70 an ounce.
Silver futures for July ended lower by $0.343 at $22.467 an ounce, while Copper futures for July settled at $3.8900 per pound, down $0.0235 from the previous close.
Following Fed Chair Powell's hint at more rate hikes during his testimony, CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicates a 74.4% chance the Fed will raise rates by another quarter point following its next meeting in late July.
In U.S. economic news, a report from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims came in at 264,000 last week, unchanged from the previous week's revised level. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 260,000 from the 262,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Reflecting the upward revision to the previous week, jobless claims held at their highest level since hitting 269,000 in the week ended October 23, 2021.
A reading on leading U.S. economic indicators decreased in line with economist estimates in the month of May, the Conference Board revealed in a report released on Thursday. The Conference Board said its leading economic index slid by 0.7% in May after falling by 0.6%.
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