By Gold prices dropped on Monday as bond yields climbed up with traders tracking the developments in the Middle East, and awaiting the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later this week for some more clarity on the interest rate front.
The dollar’s recovery from lower levels weighed as well on the bullion. The dollar index, which slid to 104.85 in the Asian session and stayed weak till early New York session, climbed to 105.16 later on, recording a marginal gain.
Gold futures for December ended down $10.60 at $1,988.60 an ounce.
Silver futures for December ended lower by $0.051 at $23.234 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $3.7190 per pound, gaining $0.0375.
Fed Chair Powell, top officials from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank are scheduled to make speeches during the course of this week at various forums.
The Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates at current levels, and a section of analysts expect the central bank to ease its policy stance sometime in the middle of 2024.
The ECB and the BoE are expected to announce reductions in interest rates in the middle of next year.
