Dollar Strengthens, Hawkish Fed Pushes Gold Prices Down

Gold futures took a hit on Tuesday as the US dollar strengthened and hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve weighed on investors' minds. The MCX gold prices for October delivery declined by Rs 914, or nearly 1%, to Rs 1,52,180 per 10 grams.

The dollar index rose to around 100.3 following comments from the Fed that reinforced expectations of further interest rate hikes. Comex gold futures for the December contract also fell USD 28.45, or nearly 1%, to USD 4,355.45 per ounce in New York.

Kaynat Chainwala, AVP, Commodity Research at Kotak Securities, noted that gold was trading near USD 4,350 an ounce in overseas trade as investors awaited comments from Federal Reserve officials for fresh clues on the central bank's monetary policy.