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Gold prices at lowest since March as dollar rises and U.S. debt-ceiling deal looks ‘doable’


Gold futures settled at their lowest level since late March on Thursday, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar and hopes for a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling by Congress.

Price action

  • Gold futures for June delivery
    GC00,
    -1.31%

    GCM23,
    -1.31%

    declined by $25.10, or 1.3%, to settle at $1,959.80 per ounce on Comex, the lowest since March 27. Prices for the most-active contract were 3% lower week to date, poised for the largest weekly decline since the week ended Oct. 14, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

  • July silver
    SI00,
    -1.22%

    SIN23,
    -1.22%

    declined by 26 cents, or 1.1%, to $23.63 per ounce.

  • June palladium
    PAM23,
    -2.01%

    shed $34.70, or 2.3%, to $1,450.20 per ounce, while July platinum
    PLN23,
    -2.37%

    declined by $24.40, or nearly 2.3%, to $1,058.20 per ounce.

  • Copper for July
    HGN23,
    -1.64%

    delivery fell by 6 cents, or 1.7%, to $3.69 per pound.

Market drivers

Gold futures declined for a third straight session and were on track to notch their biggest weekly percentage drop since October as prices continued to pullback from their May 4 Comex settlement, which was the second highest on record.

Both gold and silver are seeing their momentum fade as the U.S. dollar continues to climb, extending a recent rebound that had carried the ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY,
+0.69%
,
to its highest level in about two months. In Thursday dealings, the index was up 0.7% at 103.60.

“That’s a significantly bearish outside-market development for the metals markets,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.com. “Rising U.S. Treasury yields this week are also a negative for the precious metals.”

The yield on the 10-year Treasury
TMUBMUSD10Y,
3.647%

rose 6.5 basis points to 3.638%.

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Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy said a debt-ceiling deal might be “doable” by Sunday. However, market experts cautioned that reaching a deal is merely the first step in what could be a fraught process.

“Reaching an agreement is just one step — remember that it has to pass through Congress as well,” said Bipan Rai, head of currency strategy at CIBC Capital Markets.



This story originally appeared on Marketwatch

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