Gold prices fall below $1,800, record third-straight weekly loss

Gold prices dropped below $1,800, today, July 1, heading for the third-straight weekly loss, amid the tight monetary policy adopted by global central banks.

At the end of June, gold recorded the worst quarterly performance since early 2021, falling 7.7%. This coincided with the stability of the US dollar near its highest levels in two decades, which made the precious metal less attractive to investors, especially amid the expected interest rate hike in the coming period.

The Federal Reserve raised the interest rate by 75 basis points to a range of 1.5-1.75% in June.

Jerome Powell and other Fed board members expected that the central bank would make a similar move in July, especially as the interest rate hike would continue until the end of next year at least.

Gold futures for August delivery fell 0.76% to $1,793.50 an ounce at 11:31 am Makkah time, with spot prices also down 0.74% to $1,793.86 per ounce.

Elsewhere, silver futures for September delivery declined 3.28% to $19.70 per ounce. The spot price of platinum, meanwhile, dropped 1.01% to $884.20, with the spot price of palladium also down 1.76% to $1,903.21.

The main dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.22% to 104.97 points.