Gold futures fell more than 1 percent on Thursday, settling below 1,300 U.S. dollars per ounce for the first time in September after the U.S. Federal Reserve hinted that interest rates will go up in December.
The most active gold contract for December delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 21.6 dollars, or 1.64 percent, to settle at 1,294.8 dollars per ounce.
The U.S. central bank on Wednesday indicated it still plans to raise interest rates once more by the end of the year, with three more hikes potentially coming in 2018.
The Fed also announced it will slowly shrink its huge, economy-boosting 4.5 trillion dollars balance sheet starting in October.
Higher rates can boost the dollar, in which gold is priced. They typically move inversely. A rising interest-rate climate also tends to dull the appeal of nonyielding bullion.
The hot money was betting on lower for longer from the Fed, and now it's shocked that Fed chair Janet Yellen's team have repeated what they announced back in June about letting quantitative easing back from next month, traders said.
They maintained the next big shock will likely be to the upside when market realizes how badly Fed rates will lag behind inflation in 2018.
After scoring its biggest one-day percentage gain since January on Wednesday, the Dollar Index pulled back and ended mixed toward a basket of major currencies.
As for other precious metals, silver for December delivery fell 31.6 cents, or 1.82 percent to close at 17.018 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October fell 5.5 dollars, or 0.58 percent, to settle at 939.9 dollars per ounce.
The most active gold contract for December delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 21.6 dollars, or 1.64 percent, to settle at 1,294.8 dollars per ounce.
The U.S. central bank on Wednesday indicated it still plans to raise interest rates once more by the end of the year, with three more hikes potentially coming in 2018.
The Fed also announced it will slowly shrink its huge, economy-boosting 4.5 trillion dollars balance sheet starting in October.
Higher rates can boost the dollar, in which gold is priced. They typically move inversely. A rising interest-rate climate also tends to dull the appeal of nonyielding bullion.
The hot money was betting on lower for longer from the Fed, and now it's shocked that Fed chair Janet Yellen's team have repeated what they announced back in June about letting quantitative easing back from next month, traders said.
They maintained the next big shock will likely be to the upside when market realizes how badly Fed rates will lag behind inflation in 2018.
After scoring its biggest one-day percentage gain since January on Wednesday, the Dollar Index pulled back and ended mixed toward a basket of major currencies.
As for other precious metals, silver for December delivery fell 31.6 cents, or 1.82 percent to close at 17.018 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October fell 5.5 dollars, or 0.58 percent, to settle at 939.9 dollars per ounce.
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