Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Friday she expects rates to be raised this year and that subsequent increases will be gradual without following a predictable path. Higher borrowing costs cut bullion’s allure because the metal generally offers returns only through price gains. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose for a third day.
Gold for June delivery lost as much as 1.4 percent, the most since March 6, to $1,183.30 an ounce. It traded at $1,183.50 by 7:44 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Bullion for immediate delivery fell 1.2 percent to $1,183.77, according to Bloomberg generic pricing.
Short positions, or bets on lower prices, climbed for a seventh week to the highest in data going back to 2006, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed.
Gold declined on Friday in London to end the longest run of gains since 2012. Prices reached a three-week high on March 26 as Saudi Arabia and its allies started bombing targets in Yemen.
Holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products rose on Friday for the first time in four days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Silver futures slumped 2.5 percent to $16.635 an ounce on the Comex, reaching the lowest in a week. Platinum lost 1.6 percent to $1,122 an ounce, heading for a third straight quarterly loss.
Sumber : ewfpro.com
