Gold dips ahead of central bank meetings, dollar higher

Gold prices fell today, Monday, with the rise of the dollar and investors awaiting a series of monetary policy meetings at major central banks, including the US Federal Reserve, this week.

By 0259 GMT, gold in spot transactions fell 0.4% to $2,147.89 per ounce. US gold futures fell 0.5 percent to $2,151.30 an ounce.

According to Reuters, the Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to begin its two-day meeting regarding interest rates on Tuesday. It will announce its decision on the interest rate on Wednesday, followed by issuing a statement.

It is almost certain that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) will keep interest rates in the range of 5.25 and 5.5%, but it is possible that it will hint at the continuation of high interest rates for a longer period due to the continuation of inflation at the level of consumers and producers.

Higher interest rates reduce appetite for gold, which does not earn interest.

The dollar rose to approach its highest level in two weeks against competing currencies, which makes gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.

As for other precious metals, platinum fell in spot transactions by 0.1% to $932.45 per ounce. Palladium settled at $1,077.25 per ounce. Silver fell 0.6% to $25.01 per ounce.