WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Adding to losses from yesterday's session, gold prices have moved lower on Thursday undermining the move by the U.S. Federal Reserve to hold the rates yesterday as traders are strongly pricing in on a roughly 80.00% probability of a rate hike in December.
Front Month Comex Gold for December delivery has edged lower by $18.40 (or 0.45%) to $4,033.20 per troy ounce.
Front Month Comex Silver for December delivery has slumped by $1.276 (or 2.38%) to $52.390 per troy ounce.
After instituting a 25-basis-point rate hike in September, yesterday, the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee kept the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged to stay in the 3.75% to 4.00% range. The Fed's decision came in line with market expectations.
The central bank intends to wait until the November mid-term elections to decide on the necessity for more rate hikes.
According to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, currently investors are betting on a 79.60% chance of a 25-basis-point interest rate-hike at the December 8-9 meeting of the Fed while the odds on rates being held at the current level stand at 20.40%.
According to analysts, a firm U.S. dollar and the strong possibility for further tightening by the Fed are acting against gold. Despite a decline in oil prices today, gold could not make a convincing recovery.
Since oil-linked inflation due to high energy prices could compel the central banks to adopt a more restrictive monetary policy, the safe-haven status for gold remains subsumed.
In a senior-level outreach by the U.S. to Iran in recent months, yesterday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to Iran's National Security Chief Mohsen Rezaei, according to Wall Street Journal.
Vance urged Iran to swiftly return to negotiations to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to halt his planned attacks on Iran. He also stressed that the negotiations must address Iran's nuclear program.
Meanwhile, Qatar is working to convince Iran to allow U.N. inspectors to visit Iran.
According to several media reports since last week, the U.S. is preparing to resume strikes on Iran, jointly with Israel, after the mid-term elections in the U.S. which are scheduled to take place in the first week of November.
On Wednesday, in an interview with Axios, Trump acknowledged that negotiations with Iran are ongoing. He added that the U.S. must finish the job either through a deal or any other means. Despite his skepticism, Trump opted to see how mediation pans out.
The U.S.-Iran war has entered its ninth month. The Strait of Hormuz is closed for shipping traffic.
The IRGC announced that three vessels using the 'unauthorized' southern route caught fire after hitting mines and were abandoned on the southern shores of the Strait of Hormuz.
Al Jazeera reported, quoting IRGC Spokesperson Hossein Mohebi as stating that the strait will remain closed until the U.S. fulfills Iran's demands.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the September core Personal Consumption Expenditures price index increased 0.30% on a month-on-month basis and increased 3.10% on a year-on-year basis.
The PCE price index increased 0.50% month-on-month in September following a 0.30% increase in August, in line with market expectations. The index accelerated to 3.60% in September on an annual basis.
The U.S. economy expanded an annualized 3.40% in Q3 2026, compared to a 2.20% rise in Q2, and above expectations of 3.20%.
U.S. Labor Department revealed that for the week ending October 24, the initial claims for unemployment benefits decreased by 1,000, below market expectations of 194,000. The continuing claims fell by 21,000 to 1,701,000 for the week ending October 17.
Today, the WTI crude oil for December was last seen trading, down by $1.24 (or 1.21%), at $101.54 per barrel.
Today, the U.S. dollar index was last seen trading at 101.98, down by 0.21 (or 0.21%) today.
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