Gold Prices Turn Lower After Hitting 5-Month Highs

Investing.com – Gold prices fell on Monday, turning lower after reaching their best level in five months on the back of expectations that the Federal Reserve will need to slow its pace of rate hikes next year.

Comex were down $2.10, or almost 0.2%, to $1,250.45 a troy ounce by 8:40AM ET (13:40 GMT), having earlier touched $1,256.60, the most since July 11.

Meanwhile, was trading at $1,245.10 per ounce, down $3.40, or around 0.3%.

The yellow metal notched its biggest weekly gain since August last week.

A fourth rate hike for this year is expected next week, but the road from there is unclear. While Fed policymakers have pointed to three increases in 2019, the market is only anticipating one.

Lower interest rates can give gold a lift as it decreases the relative cost of holding on to the metal, which doesn’t offer investors any similar guaranteed payout.

Global financial markets will pay close attention to U.S. consumer price inflation and retail sales data for additional insight into the outlook for monetary policy in the months ahead.

In other metals action, were down 8.3 cents, or almost 0.6%, at $14.61 a troy ounce, while gained 0.2% to $1,172.50.

dipped 0.1% at $789.70. Prices had slipped to their lowest since Sept. 12 at $779 in the previous session.

Elsewhere, March shed 1.8 cents, or 0.7%, to $2.741 a pound.

Markets will be keeping abreast of the ongoing trade spat between the United States and China amid growing doubts over whether the world’s two largest economies will be able to resolve their differences.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Sunday that trade negotiations between the two countries need to reach a successful end by March 1 or Washington will impose new tariffs.

— Reuters contributed to this report

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