© Reuters. Gold and copper prices declined with expectations of the Fed adopting a more hawkish policy
Metals fell today, Tuesday, in the wake of comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that portend further tightening in US monetary policy.
Contracts for April delivery fell 1.75%, or $32.5, to $1,822.3 an ounce.
Contracts for May delivery fell 4.10%, or 86 cents, to $20.275 an ounce, and platinum contracts for April delivery fell 4.75% to $932 an ounce.
Prices for June delivery fell 3.50% to $1374.5 an ounce, and for April they fell 2.40% to $3.99 a pound.
This coincided with a rise – which measures its value against a basket of major currencies – by 0.90% to 105.30 points, and the rise of the US currency usually constitutes downward pressure on the prices of commodities denominated in it.
Earlier today, Powell told the Senate Banking Committee that inflationary pressures are stronger than expected, which means that interest rates may also be raised to higher levels than expected.
numbers
