Gold price steadies near nine-month low as dollar rally powers on

Investors concerned about the prospect of a global economic downturn have turned in droves to the greenback, which is already up more than 2% this month. That’s capped gold, despite support from an easing in US Treasury yields.

US inflation figures this week may stiffen the resolve of Fed policy makers to proceed with another big increase in interest rates later this month. Economists estimate the gauge climbed 8.8% in June from a year-earlier to a fresh four-decade high.

“Gold’s not moving much because the institutional dudes are just waiting for the next” Federal Open Market Committee meeting, said Liberum Capital analyst Tom Price.

Gold has been on a roller-coaster this year as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spurred a rally in the haven to well above $2,000 an ounce in March, only for the momentum to fade as the growth and inflation outlook shifted. In recent weeks, investors have cut holdings in bullion-backed exchange-traded funds.

“Any significant or lasting rise in the gold price is being precluded not only by the firm US dollar but also by the ongoing and robust ETF outflows,” Commerzbank AG analyst Carsten Fritsch said in a note. “The gold ETFs tracked by Bloomberg registered outflows of 29 tons last week, their most pronounced in eight weeks and the fourth week in a row.”

Spot gold was down 0.5% at $1,726.14 an ounce at 1:35 p.m. in New York, after earlier falling to $1,723.32, the lowest intraday price since Sept. 30. Futures fell 0.4% to settle at $1,724.80 on the Comex. Spot silver, platinum and palladium retreated. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was down 0.1%.