Investing.com - Gold fell on Wednesday, with its key $1,200 perch turning vulnerable after the Federal Reserve announced a much-anticipated third U.S. rate hike for the year, which brought out profit-takers in bullion.
The Fed raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point, increasing the overnight U.S. funds rate to a range of 2.00% to 2.25%. The central bank said in a statement that its decision was in response to the country’s faster pace of economic growth.
Gold Futures for December were down by $5.40, or 0.45%, at $1,199.70 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange by 3:23 PM ET (19:23 GMT). The contract started this week above $1,200 an ounce, an important psychological level for gold bugs, as the dollar fell on the notion that Wednesday’s rate hike had been fully priced into the market.
The dollar remained a tad weaker at the time of writing, although it had risen earlier. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.02% at 93.71 after rising to 94 earlier.
George Gero, RBC Capital Markets’ analyst for precious metals, said options expiration in October gold futures were another reason for bullion’s weakness on Wednesday, with few investors willing to support the market’s continued run higher.
Higher interest rates increase bond yields, making non-interest bearing gold less attractive to investors. They also tend to boost the dollar, making dollar-denominated gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.
With September’s hike now in place, investors are expecting another rate increase in December. Indications that the Fed is looking to remain hawkish next year would likely bolster the dollar, while suggestions that it may slow the pace of rate hikes or that it is coming to the end of its tightening cycle next year could send the greenback lower.
Overall market sentiment in gold remained subdued on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump’s appearance at the United Nations General Assembly the previous day, where he restated his administrations tough stance on trade and that it would "no longer tolerate abuse".
Elsewhere in precious metals, December silver futures edged down 0.57% to $14.41 a troy ounce, while January platinum futures was trading at $829.90, up 0.44% on the day. Palladium futures rose 0.6% to $1,060.20.
Among base metals, December copper futures added on 0.23% to reach $2.83.