Gold falls as rate-hike bets boost dollar to one-year high

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Gold prices fell on Tuesday as the U.S. ‌dollar hit a one-year high on increased expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike, outweighing support from softer oil prices amid progress in U.S.-Iran talks.

Spot gold dipped 1.4% to $4,131.24 per ounce by 1:50 ​p.m. ET (1750 GMT).

U.S. gold futures for August delivery settled 1.3% lower at $4,149.40 ​per ounce.

The U.S. dollar rose to its highest level in more than ⁠a year on Tuesday, making gold more expensive for overseas buyers.

"Right now gold ​and silver aren't really looking to the Middle East. I think they're more looking ​closely at what the Federal Reserve said last week," said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at StoneX.

Hawkish signals to counter inflation from new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh have pushed investors to scale ​up bets on interest-rate hikes.

Traders now see about an 86% chance of a ​rate hike in December, up from 61% before the Fed meeting last week, according to the ‌CME ⁠FedWatch Tool.

While gold is often seen as a hedge against inflation, the precious metal tends to suffer in a high-interest-rate environment as it offers no yield.

On the geopolitical front, the United States waived sanctions on Iran for 60 days from Monday, after ​the first talks under ​a nascent peace ⁠deal, though hostilities in Lebanon continued, officials said.

Earlier, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said talks with Iranian officials in Switzerland had ​laid a good foundation for a final peace deal, with ​tanker traffic picking ⁠up through the previously choked Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures fell more than 1% on Tuesday.

Investors now await U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures data, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, due ⁠on ​Thursday for further cues on monetary policy.

Among other ​metals, spot silver fell 4.9% to $61.98 per ounce, platinum dropped 1.2% to $1,657.92, and palladium slid 2.6% to $1,232.28.

Courtesy: www.reuters.com