Gold prices fell moderately on February 28 morning, Report informs referring to the auction data.
The strengthening of the dollar puts pressure on the quotes of the precious metal, while the markets continue to evaluate the plans of the US Federal Reserve System (FRS) regarding the key rate.
The price of April gold futures on the New York Comex exchange fell by $4.25, or 0.23%, to $1,820.65 per troy ounce. May futures for silver fell 0.53% to $20.683 an ounce.
The dollar index (the exchange rate against a basket of currencies of six US trading partners) rose by 0.13% to 104.81 points. A stronger dollar makes gold less available to buy in another currency.
Markets continue to be affected by traders’ expectations of the Fed’s monetary policy. According to CME Group, 74.5% of analysts expect another rate hike in March - again by 25 basis points, to 4.75-5% per annum. At the same time, 25.5% expect an increase of already 50 basis points.
The regulator started a cycle of rate hikes last year.
Gold is sensitive to Fed rate signals. The actions of the regulator affect the dollar exchange rate, on which the price of the precious metal depends. Traditionally, a rate hike supports the dollar and puts pressure on gold.