Gold headed for a weekly loss on Friday, September 25, as a stronger U.S. dollar and a hawkish Federal Reserve outlook weighed on the metal. Spot gold edged up 0.2% on the day to $4,288.36 an ounce but was still down about 2% for the week. U.S. gold futures rose 0.6% to $4,323.10. Silver slipped 0.1% to $63.81 an ounce, platinum gained 0.5% to $1,756.90, and palladium fell 1.3% to $1,257.56.
The pullback followed comments from Federal Reserve officials signaling continued caution on inflation. Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson said returning inflation to the central bank's 2% target remains a top priority, a stance that has kept traders pricing in a slower pace of rate cuts. New York Fed President John Williams also weighed in on the policy outlook this week.
OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said attention would stay fixed on the interest rate path, noting the current environment is a headwind for the metal. Precious metals dealer Joshua Rotbart of J. Rotbart & Co. was also cited discussing market conditions.
Gold has still posted substantial gains for the year, but the combination of a firmer dollar and reduced expectations for near-term Fed easing has introduced fresh volatility. Traders are now watching upcoming U.S. economic data releases, including inflation and employment figures, for signals on whether the current rate outlook holds through the fourth quarter.
Source: Business Recorder -- https://www.brecorder.com/news/40441178/gold-heads-for-weekly-loss-as-stronger-dollar-fed-rate-outlook-weighs