Gold settles lower for first time in 4 sessions

Gold bars 

Gold prices fell on Monday as Treasury yields and the dollar rose, following threats from US President-elect Donald Trump to impose tariffs on BRICS nations, reigniting inflation fears in the United States.

At the close of trading, gold futures for February 2025 delivery—the most actively traded contract— eased 0.85%, or $22.5, to $2,658.50 per ounce, ending a three-session winning streak.

Meanwhile, the Dollar Index, which measures the performance of the US dollar against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.7% to 106.45 points as of 10:42 pm KSA time.

This came after Trump warned the nine-nation bloc against supporting or creating alternatives to the dollar, threatening to impose 100% tariffs if they violated this directive. This sparked concerns that US interest rates would remain higher for longer than expected.

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic told reporters that there is a lot of uncertainty, but it is undecided on whether an interest-rate cut is needed this month, especially as upcoming data will be critical, referring to the US labor market reports scheduled for release this week.