Gold down on higher dollar, amid anticipation of Federal ‎Reserve symposium

Gold prices fell on Wednesday as the US dollar rose after hawkish comments from a Federal Reserve official kept investors cautious ahead of a Fed conference in Jackson Hole later this week.

Gold in spot transactions fell 0.1% to $ 1746.18 an ounce, by 0712 GMT, after rising 0.7 percent in the previous session.

US gold futures also fell 0.1% to $ 1769.20 per ounce, Reuters reported.

The dollar has recently stabilized near its peak against rival currencies, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies

Attention will focus on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the annual World Central Banking Conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday to get more indications about the prospects for a future rate hike.

Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, was the latest official to stress that the central bank’s focus is on controlling inflation before anything else.

The US central bank has raised interest rates by a total of 225 basis points since March to contain inflation pressures and indicated that further tightening would depend on economic data.

The higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of owning the yellow metal, which does not yield a return

Among other precious metals, spot silver fell 0.6% to $19.05 an ounce, platinum fell 0.4% to $875.95, and palladium fell 0.2% to $1976.28.