By Deep Kaushik Vakil
(Reuters) – Gold extended losses on Monday for the sixth consecutive session to hit a near seven-month low on the dollar’s strength, with traders digesting a key U.S. inflation report as they awaited a slew of job market data this week.
Spot gold dropped 0.3% to $1,842.79 per ounce by 0733 GMT, its lowest since March 10. U.S. gold futures shed 0.4% to $1,858.60.
Last week, bullion posted its biggest weekly decline since June 2021 to end the third quarter 3.7% lower.
The dollar held near a 10-month high, while 10-year Treasury yields were off a 16-year peak. [USD/] [US/]
“The data out of the U.S. is getting softer and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s squeeze is starting to show up in more and more places,” said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro, Tastylive.
Underlying U.S. inflation moderated in August, data on Friday showed, with the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, a measure of inflation closely watched by the Fed, now averaging near its 2% target for the last three months.
New York Fed President John Williams said the central bank may be done with rate rises as inflation pressures, while still elevated, are moving back toward the official target.
Higher rates raise the opportunity cost of holding bullion, which is priced in dollars and does not yield any interest.
“Spot gold has stayed supported north of $1,900/oz for a record number of trading sessions in 2023,” Citi analysts wrote in a quarterly note, forecasting bullion will bottom early in the fourth quarter and enter 2024 above $2,000.
Markets will scan Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later in the day, while eyeing data about job openings, private hiring, and nonfarm payrolls due over this week.
Spot silver slid 1.4% to more than six-month lows of $21.85 per ounce, while platinum rose 0.3% to $907.13 and palladium eased 0.3% to $1,241.90.
(Reporting by Deep Vakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Krishna Chandra Eluri)