Investing.com — Gold prices fell Monday and silver also retreated amid continued uncertainty over U.S. interest rates in the wake of the release of the latest US. inflation data.
At 07:20 ET (12:20 GMT), spot fell 0.9% to $4,997.74/oz and for April fell 0.5% to $5,019.25/oz.
Spot silver dropped 1.5% to $76.808/oz, while spot platinum fell 1.6% to $2,043.20/oz.
Metal markets remained volatile after logging wild swings in the past two weeks, with gold and silver also remaining well below late-January peaks.
Trading volumes were also thin with Chinese, South Korean, and U.S. markets closed for the day.
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Precious metals see volatile trade amid rate uncertainty
Gold and silver were sitting on some gains from the prior week, as a mix of dip-buying and weakness in the dollar supported metal prices. Heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran also spurred some haven buying.
But precious metals still traded well below their late-January peaks, and logged a series of volatile swings in recent weeks as markets remained broadly uncertain over the outlook for U.S. interest rates.
Gold’s late-January losses were initially triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump nominating Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair after Jerome Powell’s term expires in May.
Warsh was viewed as a less dovish pick, sparking concerns that U.S. monetary conditions will not loosen substantially in the coming years.
“The market’s attention is gradually shifting to the potential impact of tariffs, which has yet to fully emerge in economic and inflation data, and doubts remain around future Fed credibility. Such a backdrop will intensify investors’ appetite for real assets like gold,” ANZ analysts said in a note, adding that their long-term view on gold remained largely positive.
U.S. Fed minutes, PCE data in focus
The focus this week is squarely on more cues on the U.S. economy, with the of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting due on Wednesday.
The minutes are expected to provide more insight into the central bank’s plans for interest rates, especially amid investor angst over a looming change in Fed leadership.
data for December is due later in the week. The print is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, and is likely to factor into the central bank’s long-term outlook on rates.
U.S. and data are also due this week.
Ambar Warrick contributed to this article