WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures settled lower on Wednesday, losing for a second straight session, as the dollar stayed firm amid bets the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer.
A recent surge in oil prices has added to the negative sentiment amid worries higher oil prices could keep inflation at elevated levels.
The dollar index climbed to 105.02 around late morning today, before easing to 104.84.
Higher bond yields contributed as well to gold's downside.
Gold futures for December ended lower by $8.40 or about 0.4% at $1,944.20 an ounce, a near 2-week closing low.
Silver futures for December ended down $0.370 at $23.503 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $3.7860 per pound, down $0.0625 from the previous close.
A report from the Institute for Supply Management showing an unexpected acceleration in the pace of U.S. service sector growth in the month of August.
The ISM said its services PMI rose to 54.5 in August from 52.7 in July, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. The increase surprised economists, who had expected the index to edge down to 52.5.
The data has added to recent concerns about the outlook for interest rates, as the report also showed an acceleration in the pace of price growth.
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