Gold prices fall below $1,800

Gold prices fell on Wednesday below $1,800, amid investors' doubts that the recent increase in COVID-19 cases may push the Federal Reserve to postpone the decision to cut monetary stimulus.

Gold futures contracts for December delivery fell 0.6% to reach 1,796.9 per ounce at 10:50am Makkah time, while spot delivery price declined by 0.5% to $1,793.96 per ounce.

Elsewhere, silver futures for December delivery fell 0.7% to reach $23.76 an ounce, spot price for platinum delivery decreased 1.5% to reach $999.44, while palladium declined 1.7% to reach $2,431.5 per ounce.

With the Delta variant rampant, expectations have diminished that Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, might indicate a timetable when he speaks at the bank's annual economic seminar in Jackson Hole on Aug. 27.

Anthony Fauci, Chief Infectious Disease Expert in the United States, said that the country may control COVID-19 by early next year.