Gold slipped Monday as renewed Middle East tensions pushed oil and Treasury yields higher, fuelling inflation concerns and bets the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates.
Bullion fell 0.5% as US crude climbed above $85 a barrel. Traders are pricing in a more than 60% chance of a September hike after Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh vowed to fight inflation.
Gold remains up about 10% in August, heading for its biggest monthly gain since January after the US Treasury’s plan to ramp up bond buybacks revived the debasement trade.
Policy tug
The Treasury and Fed are in a “tug of war,” Nicky Shiels, head of research and metals strategy at MKS PAMP SA, said in a note. She expects the debasement trade to support gold into September.
Meanwhile, the US and Iran exchanged strikes for the first time in about a month, with President Donald Trump saying Washington would respond to Iranian attacks on US forces.
Spot gold fell 0.5% to $4,434.78 an ounce at 1:12 p.m. in New York. Silver slipped 0.1% to $66.30, while platinum and palladium also declined.
(With files from Bloomberg)
