Investing.com – Gold prices were steady near a one-year low on Wednesday as a higher dollar and comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell continued to weigh.
Comex for August delivery decreased 0.29% to $1,223.80 a troy ounce as of 10:46 AM ET (14:46 GMT).
Powell reiterated the central bank should gradually increase interest rates at his hearing at Congress on Tuesday. Trade tensions and fiscal policy made the future uncertain, he added.
The Fed raised rates twice this year and is expected to raise rates at least once more before the end of the year. Higher rates are a negative for gold as the precious metal, which does not pay interest, struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when rates rise.
The central bank chairman was a second day, delivering testimony to the House Financial Services Committee.
Meanwhile the dollar rallied, which also weighed on the metal. Gold falls as the dollar rises, as the precious metal is denominated in the U.S. currency and is sensitive to moves in the dollar.
The , which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, rallied 0.16% to 94.88.
Bullion becomes more expensive for holders of other currencies when the dollar rises and cheaper when it falls.
Other metals were also down on the Comex, with falling 1.07% to $15.450 a troy ounce. Among other precious metals, slumped 0.46% to $816.10 while decreased 0.48% to $904.80 an ounce. futures lost 0.55% to $2.732 a pound.
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Source: Investing.com
