NEW YORK: Gold edged lower on Thursday, pressured by hawkish policy signals from the Federal Reserve and a stronger dollar, while the US-Iran ceasefire deal that dialed back inflation concerns and sent oil markets lower put a floor under prices.
Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at USD4,246.55 per ounce at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT). Prices touched their lowest since November 2025 last week.
US gold futures fell 2.7 percent to USD4,264.30.
“The most significant thing was the hawkish tilt by the Fed yesterday. That has the dollar at new highs for the year, which is keeping gold under some pressure,” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals.
The Fed held interest rates steady on Wednesday, but nine out of 19 policymakers see a need for a hike later in the year.
The US dollar climbed after the policy statement and is currently at a one-year high, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for overseas buyers.
Markets are now pricing in an 85 percent chance of a US rate hike in December, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. This is higher than the 61 percent chance seen before the Fed’s policy statement.
Gold, a non-yielding asset, usually struggles in a high interest rate environment. Prices have come under pressure since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, as rising fuel costs stoked inflation fears.
The US and Iran released the text of an interim agreement their presidents signed to end their war on Wednesday, with US President Donald Trump threatening to resume attacks and kill Iranian officials if they failed to honour their commitments.
Brent futures sank to its lowest since March 2, which was the first day of trading after the initial US-Israeli strikes on Iran, while WTI was at its lowest since March 4.
Among other metals, spot silver fell 1.8 percent to USD66.75 per ounce, platinum lost 0.9 percent to USD1,718.27, and palladium shed 2.1 percent to USD1,285.10.
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