Gold falls to its lowest level in 4 weeks

Gold prices fell on Wednesday to the lowest level in nearly four weeks as investors awaited a decision from the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) that could provide more clues about the timetable for cutting interest rates.

According to Reuters, gold fell in spot transactions by 0.1% to $2,284.44 per ounce by 0436 GMT, after recording the lowest level since April 5 earlier in the session. Prices fell as much as 2% on Tuesday due to a rise in the dollar and US Treasury yields.

Prices of the precious metal fell by more than $140 after recording a record level of $2,431.29 on April 12.

US gold futures fell 0.4% to $2,293.10 an ounce.

The focus is now on the monetary policy decision issued by the US Central Bank at 1800 GMT and the following statements by Bank Chairman Jerome Powell.

The Federal Reserve is expected to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged in the range between 5.25 and 5.5%.