Gold Prices Plunge Amid Rising Oil Costs, Fears of Rate Hikes

On August 18th, gold prices on MCX declined due to profit-booking amid rising oil prices. The US Federal Reserve and other major central banks' potential rate hikes stoked fears of inflation. As a result, August gold futures fell by 0.54% to Rs. 1,55,093.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures rose 0.73% to $91.53 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) edged higher by 0.89% to $85.25 per barrel.

IG market analyst Tony Sycamore noted that gold is extending its gains after last week's soft US economic data raised hopes of the Fed keeping rates on hold this year.