Gold Tumbles as Oil Prices Soar and Rate-Hike Fears Mount

Gold prices plummeted more than 2% on Monday as investors grew increasingly concerned about inflation, driving expectations of further Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes.

The rise in oil prices has heightened inflation concerns and reinforced expectations of higher interest rates. Spot gold fell 2.7% to $4,171.85 per ounce, reaching its lowest point since early August.

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack expressed concern that persistently high inflation risks conditioning the American public to accept elevated prices as normal, a sentiment echoed by Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.