Gold snaps longest streak of daily losses since March 2017

Gold booked its ninth straight daily drop today, Aug. 17, hurt by the increase in US bond yields and growing market expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to lift interest rates.

Bullion for December delivery contracted by 0.70%, or $13.10, to finish at $1,915.20 an ounce, hitting the longest daily losing streak since March 2017.

Today, US labor market data showed that jobless claims fell by 11,000 applications to 239,000 in the week ended Aug. 12, recording the largest rate of decline in five weeks, in a sign of the resilience of the labor market despite the rise in interest rates and inflation.

Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Fed said its current business activity index registered a positive reading for the first time in a year, coming in at 12 in August, up from -13.5 in July. The latest figure was above economists’ expectations of 10.0.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to a 16-year peak during today’s trading, as investors digested minutes from the Fed’s July meeting which suggested that the monetary policy makers may continue to maintain the hawkish policy during the coming period.