World gold prices continued to fall in the trading session on September 22 as expectations of high interest rates weakened the attractiveness of the precious metal. Investors are waiting for new statements from US Federal Reserve (Fed) officials to assess the possibility of interest rates continuing to rise in October.
As of 3:00 PM on September 22 Vietnam time, spot gold price decreased by 1%, to 4,300.32 USD/ounce. Gold futures contracts decreased by 1.08%, to 4,336.67 USD/ounce.
Previously, spot gold prices fell 0.6% to 4,319.39 USD/ounce, while gold futures prices fell 0.6% to 4,356.30 USD/ounce. This development shows that selling pressure continued to increase after the previous sharp decline.
The market is focusing on Fed officials' statements in the context of relatively limited US economic data this week. Investors are looking for signals about whether the US central bank may continue to raise interest rates in October or not.
The Fed increased interest rates by another 0.25 percentage points in a meeting last week and signaled the possibility of further interest rate hikes in the coming months. High interest rates often put pressure on gold because the precious metal does not generate income from interest, making investors tend to prioritize yield-generating assets.
Besides interest rates, oil price movements are also being monitored by the market. Oil prices have decreased in previous sessions, thereby partly easing concerns about inflation. However, if oil prices turn around and increase again and push inflation expectations up, pressure on gold may increase as the market expects the Fed to maintain a tighter monetary policy.
On the precious metals market, spot silver prices fell 1.67%, to 64.92 USD/ounce. Platinum prices fell 1.51%, to 1,777.30 USD/ounce. Meanwhile, palladium futures for December delivery fell 1.53%, to 1,296.25 USD/ounce.
