Gold and silver both set new 8-month lows in London on Thursday as a rising dollar and a fresh jump in crude oil kept US rate-hike expectations hawkish. London gold fixed beneath $4000 for the first time since early November, while silver dropped to its lowest since the last day of November.
Gold and silver both set fresh 8-month lows in London’s bullion market on Thursday, sinking as mixed US economic data met a rising dollar and climbing oil prices. London gold lost 1.6% from Wednesday afternoon to set a 3pm benchmark beneath $4000 for the first time since early November, fixing around $3995 per ounce.
Silver fared worse. The metal lost $1.50 to fix around $56.45 per troy ounce at London’s midday auction, its lowest since the last day of November, before dropping another $1 in spot-market trading.
A rising dollar and oil weigh on metals
The US dollar rallied from a 1-month low on its trade-weighted DXY index after the US Navy attacked an oil tanker heading to Iran near the Strait of Hormuz. Global stock markets and government bond prices fell alongside the metals.
Crude added to the pressure. Global oil prices rose for the fourth day this week, and US WTI crude rose above $80 per barrel for the first time since mid-June, driven by worsening violence and threats between Washington and Tehran.
Rate-hike bets keep pressure on
Because of the firmer dollar and oil, US interest-rate expectations stayed hawkish. End-year rate expectations rose above 3.90% according to the CME FedWatch tool, with market consensus predicting one 0.25-point hike from the FOMC before Christmas 2026. A note from Australasian bank ANZ said gold could remain rangebound in the near term as expectations for at least one Federal Reserve rate hike this year continue to limit upside.
The pullback came despite soft inflation data. FXEmpire analyst Przemysław Radomski noted that June headline prices fell 0.4%, the largest one-month decline since April 2020, yet the metals still failed to rally on the news.
Sources: BullionVault, FXEmpire
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
