Dollar Growth And Fed Hawkishness Are Pressuring Gold Prices

Gold prices moved little on Thursday, but were down for the week as the dollar reached a six-week high on concerns of a hawkish Federal Reserve. Investors are now focusing on impending economic data for additional clues on the U.S. economy and monetary policy.

Later in the day, a revised estimate of U.S. GDP for the fourth quarter will be released, with any sustained evidence of resilience in the economy giving the Fed more room to continue raising interest rates. This notion was strengthened this week by readings on business activity that exceeded expectations.

Friday will also see the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index for January, which is anticipated to confirm that inflation remained persistent throughout the month. In addition, the reading is likely to increase the Fed's calls for sharper interest rate increases in the future months.

At 19:07 E.T., spot gold was unchanged at $1,824.76 per ounce, while gold futures declined 0.1% to $1,832.85 per ounce (00:07 GMT). Both assets were down approximately 0.4% thus far this week.

Wednesday's publication of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's February meeting revealed that the majority of monetary policy committee members supported raising interest rates for an extended period of time this year. However, their proposals for a 25 basis point increase were deemed obsolete after data released after the Fed's meeting revealed that inflation remained much more persistent than anticipated.

Nonetheless, the dollar reached a six-week high versus a basket of currencies. The opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as gold and other precious metals increases as interest rates rise.

This week will also bring inflation data from the Eurozone and Japan, which are expected to indicate that global price pressures remain elevated, likely resulting in tightening monetary conditions.

On Thursday, other precious metals were trading lower. Futures for silver fell 0.6% to $21.530 per ounce, while futures for platinum fell 0.1% to $950.80 per ounce.

High-grade copper futures were muted at $4.1790 per pound on Thursday, after falling 1.1% on Wednesday.

In spite of this, prices of the crimson metal have increased by nearly 2% so far this week, due to evidence of resilience in U.S. economic activity and optimism regarding China's recovery.