Gold Extends Losses For Fourth Straight Session, Drops ₹1,500 To ₹1.6 Lakh Per 10 Grams

New Delhi: Gold prices fell for the fourth straight session, declining by Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,60,900 per 10 grams in the national capital on Monday as bearish global cues weighed on traders' sentiment.

The yellow metal of 99.9 per cent purity closed at Rs 1,62,400 per 10 grams on Friday.

Traders said the decline in domestic gold prices also reflected continued profit-booking after the yellow metal's strong run in recent weeks, with traders trimming positions as the metal failed to sustain its earlier momentum.

However, silver remained steady at Rs 2,45,500 per kilogram (inclusive of all taxes), according to local traders.

"Gold prices remained under pressure after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium increased expectations of an interest rate hike in September meeting," Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at Lemonn Markets Desk, said.

Higher US Treasury yields and an elevated dollar further weighed on precious metals, extending their recent correction, he added.

Globally, spot gold traded marginally lower at USD 4,448.56 per ounce. However, silver gained nearly 1 per cent to USD 66.97 per ounce.

The bullion market also took cues from rising oil prices after fresh US-Iran military strikes, with higher energy rates adding to inflation concerns and potentially strengthening the case for tighter monetary policy.

Spot gold is trading lower and hovering around USD 4,440 per ounce after the US and Iran exchanged strikes. The fresh strikes pushed up oil prices, which has raised the possibility of an interest rate hike, Praveen Singh, Head of Commodities at Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said.

The metal has already taken a hit globally on Friday, ending near 4,455 per ounce after Warsh cited elevated inflation and said underlying CPI and PCE trends were not encouraging.

Warsh also said that short-term interest rates could be effective in reining in inflation and that Fed officials have to act if inflation failed to fall soon. The hawkish remarks lifted expectations of a rate hike and triggered further profit-booking in precious metals.

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