On Monday, gold prices fell to their lowest level in two months as concerns about further interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve in response to good US economic data grew.
At 0541 GMT, the spot price of gold decreased 0.1% to $1,808.51 per ounce.
The US gold futures price fell to $1,815.00.
According to data released on Friday, US consumer spending increased 1.8% last month, the most since March 2021. The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, up 0.6% after increasing 0.2% in December.
According to Hareesh V, head of commodity research at Geojit Financial Services, “a two-year high in consumer spending paired with strong job data announced earlier this month would give the Fed confidence to hike rates to confront inflation.”
Rising rates reduce the attraction of gold as an inflation hedge by raising the opportunity cost of owning the non-yielding asset.
The data showing an unexpected increase in January inflation, according to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, indicated that the fight against inflation “is not a straight line” and that additional effort was required.
In order to get inflation on a sustainable downward path to 2%, the Fed will need to put up more effort, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said on Friday.
Earlier this month, gold prices reached their highest level since April 2022, but have since lost nearly $150 as a deluge of US statistics indicated a robust economy and a tight labour market.
