Gold prices steady, set for third straight monthly loss

Gold prices stabilized today, June 30, but are heading towards recording the third consecutive monthly loss, under pressure from global central banks’ plans for tightening monetary policy to tame inflation.

Gold is heading towards recording the worst quarterly performance since early 2021, declining 6.2% during the second quarter of the year so far. This is amid mounting expectations of US interest rate hikes, which strengthened the US dollar and weighed on the precious metal due to the inverse relationship between them.

During an interview with CNBC yesterday, June 29, Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Meester said she would support a 75-basis-point rate hike at the July meeting if economic conditions remain unchanged and inflation continues to accelerate.

Also, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stressed at the European Central Bank's annual conference on Wednesday that the bank will not allow the US economy to slide into a system of high inflation, even if that means raising interest rates to levels that put growth at risk.

Gold futures for August delivery settled at $1,816.10 an ounce at 10:39 am Makkah time, with spot prices down slightly by 0.16% to $1,814.08 per ounce.

Elsewhere, silver futures for September delivery rose 0.20% to $20.77 per ounce. The spot price of platinum, meanwhile, fell 0.59% to $911.31, and the spot price of palladium also dropped 0.42% to $1,953.75.

The main dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six currencies, settled at 105.01 points.