Why This Market Veteran Isn't Falling For a June Rate Hike

Gold prices ended the U.S. day session solidly lower and scored a four-week low Tuesday. The recent uptrend in the U.S. dollar index remains a strong force against the precious metals markets, explains Todd ‘Bubba’ Horwitz, chief market strategist for BubbaTrading.com. The dollar index hit a seven-week high on Tuesday adding pressure to gold. June Comex gold futures settled the day down $22.30 an ounce at $1,229 while July Comex silver settled at $16.254, down $0.169 an ounce. A strong U.S. home sales report Tuesday that showed the best pace of sales in eight years in April also worked in favor of the U.S. dollar bulls. The report falls into the camp of the U.S. monetary policy hawks, who want to see the Fed raise interest rates sooner; however, Horwitz does not think there will a rate hike in June.