By: Mahmoud Gamal
Mubasher: Gold prices declined in line with the rise of US dollar following the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rate.
The US Federal Reserve, which act as the national central bank, increased its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a 0.5% to 0.75% range.
Gold prices fell 1.57% by 4:20am GMT to reach 1,144.21 per ounce, its lowest level since 5 February.
Gold futures prices at New York Mercantile Exchange declined 1.6% to reach $1,144.8 per ounce.
The Federal Reserve’s signals that interest rates could rise three times in 2017 affected the US dollar, commodity analyst Zamel Al-Otaibi told Mubasher.
The US dollar (DXY), which tracks it against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.05% during the same time.
Gold prices are expected to continue declining till the end of Thursday and reach $1,000 with the beginning of the second quarter of 2017, Al-Otaibi noted.
Translated by: Julian Nabil
