Gold price slides with higher yields as traders eye Fed policy, China

Gold fell as Treasury yields and the dollar rose, with traders assessing fresh US economic data for cues on the Federal Reserve’s rate policy along with China’s relaxation of its Covid-Zero policies.

Solid US economic data on Monday boosted the chances of higher interest rates for longer from the Fed, which is negative for bullion as it pays no interest. Treasury yields and the dollar extended gains after the figures were released, sending bullion down as much as 1.4%.

The Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of services rose to 56.5 last month from 54.4 in October. Readings above 50 signal growth, and the median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists was 53.5. The prices-paid index edged down but remains elevated at 70 — well above pre-pandemic levels and suggesting inflation may be slow to dissipate.

The precious metal had been hurt by the US central bank’s aggressive rate hikes this year, although it rose above the key $1,800 level last week amid signs the Fed might be less hawkish.

“We see signs of buying exhaustion in gold, but a notable consolidation in prices will be needed before CTA trend followers spark renewed outflows,” said Daniel Ghali, senior commodity strategist at TD Securities.

Spot gold fell 1.1% to $1,777.15 an ounce as of 10:42 a.m. in New York. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index strengthened 0.4% after earlier falling as much as 0.4%, while 10-year Treasury yields rose above 3.6%. Silver and platinum dropped, while palladium was little changed.

(By Yvonne Yue Li, with assistance from Eddie Spence and Sing Yee Ong)