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December gold futures slid $8.70, or 0.71%, to $1,208.20 per ounce at 17:43 GMT on Friday. Gold is poised to finish off the week down 1% and post its second consecutive weekly loss. The yellow metal will close at a 5-½-month low.
Silver is also in a rut. December silver futures tumbled $0.16, or 0.97%, to $16.61 an ounce. Silver is set for a weekly loss of 4.4%. The last time silver traded this low was at the beginning of June.
The precious metals are declining after the US dollar soared to a 14-year high against a basket of currencies. The greenback is surging ahead due to high expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at next month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. US
Fed Chair Janet Yellen provided Congress a positive economic outlook and confirmed that Trump’s surprise victory has had no bearing on the central bank’s decision to raise rates “relatively soon.”
Gold is weakened in an environment of rising rates and a stronger dollar. When rates go up, the opportunity cost is lifted and investors flee the yellow metal in favor of
In addition to the dollar and the Fed’s
Despite recent losses, gold is still up 20%
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