Gold fell for the sixth straight session and reached a five-week low on Thursday, with analysts expecting further losses as investors become increasingly certain that US interest rates will rise this month. Spot gold was down 0.5 percent at $1,202.11 an ounce by 3:01 pm EST (2001 GMT) after dropping to $1,201.02, its weakest since February 1.
US gold futures settled down 0.5 percent at $1,203.20. Strong US economic data and comments by Federal Reserve officials have reinforced expectations of a March US rate hike. Higher interest rates typically pressure gold prices because they raise the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion while boosting the dollar, in which it is priced. "You could see the price continuing to drop as more news comes out confirming what the market already knows," said Bernard Dahdah, metals analyst at Natixis.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see gold drop below $1,200 in the next few days." Interest rate futures implied that traders had put the chance of a rate hike next week at 86 percent on Wednesday, compared with 82 percent at Tuesday's close, according to CME Group's FedWatch program. "In gold, fundamentals on balance indicate a moderate short position," UBS Chief Investment Office Wealth Management said in a note. In other precious metals, silver fell 1.6 percent to $16.95 an ounce, having touched $16.91, the lowest since January 27. Platinum dropped 0.9 percent to $935.90 after hitting a low of $929.25, the weakest since January 4, while palladium slid 2.8 percent to $747.20, after falling to $744.60, its lowest since February 6.
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