Peru’s small miners block highways, camp outside Congress demanding registry extension
Analyst says that there are strong competing interests between Congress and small-scale miners that could escalate.
Gold prices slid to a one-week low on Thursday, pressured by a rallying dollar and bond yields after the US Federal Reserve signalled quicker increases to interest rates.
Spot gold declined 1.1% to $1,789.20 an ounce by 12:10 p.m. EDT, its lowest since Dec. 29. US gold futures on the Comex were down nearly 2.0%, trading at $1,789.00 an ounce.
[Click here for an interactive chart of gold prices]
The Fed minutes released on Wednesday showed officials had discussed shrinking the central bank’s overall asset holdings, as well as raising rates sooner than expected to fight inflation.
As a result, the US dollar index saw a slight bump on Thursday, lessening the appeal of bullion for other currency holders. Benchmark 10-year yields, meanwhile, rose to their highest level since March of last year.
“The primary focal point is the number of rate increases and how aggressive the Fed will be with its balance sheet runoff, which has put gold in a vulnerable position,” said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at brokerage OANDA, in a Reuters report.
“If the movement in Treasury yields goes a lot higher in the short term, that is going to be very disruptive for gold trade,” Moya added.
Gold and silver prices are pressured as markets attempt to squeeze in a fourth rate hike for 2022, TD Securities said in a note, adding that constraints to money supply growth should further sap appetite for all collectibles, including silver coins.
Spot silver shrank 2.7% to $22.15 an ounce, the lowest level since mid-December.
(With files from Reuters)
