Gold prices fall below $1,800

Gold prices fell below $1,800 today, Dec. 20, but are still trading near the highest level in three weeks. This is amidst the outbreak of the Omicron strain and the tendency of a number of countries to tighten restrictions related to the closure.

Stephen Innes, an official at SBI Asset Management, told Reuters that there are many reasons for holding gold, as interest rates are still historically low, even if the Federal Reserve tends to raise them.

He explained that the uncertainty due to Omicron may lead to a more pessimistic scenario on the part of the Federal Reserve in 2022.

Gold futures contracts for February delivery fell 0.4% to reach $1,798.60 per ounce at 10:35am Makkah time. Spot price for the yellow metal settled at $1,799.77 per ounce.

Elsewhere, silver futures for March delivery fell 1% to reach $22.31 an ounce. Spot price for platinum delivery fell 0.9% to reach $927.89, while palladium declined 5.2% to reach $1,691 per ounce.

The main dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six currencies, settled at 96.581 points.

The US will release last week's unemployment claims data later today, and expectations are for 196,000.