Gold prices fall, head for second-straight weekly losses

Gold prices dropped, on Oct. 21, heading for their second-straight weekly losses, as the US dollar keep rising driven by forecasts of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

During a panel discussion in South Carolina, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook highlighted the need to continue raising interest rate, noting that inflation remains unacceptably high.

Barclays Bank warned in a research note that the Federal Reserve's continued reduction of its balance sheet at the current level will lead to a decline in the bank's reserves by the end of 2023.

Outflows from gold-backed exchange-traded funds rose by 12.5 tons on Oct. 19, the biggest one-day decline since March 2021, which is a bearish signal for bullion.

Gold futures for December delivery fell by 0.46% to $1,629.20 an ounce at 10:45 am Makkah time. Spot prices also dropped by 0.27% to $1,623.83 an ounce.

Silver futures for December delivery were down 1.33% to $18.44 per ounce, while spot prices for platinum declined 0.56% to $908.83. Palladium prices also dropped 0.61% to $2,045.11.

The dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six major currencies, kept flat at 112.92 points.