Gold hits four-day losing streak after US economic data

Gold prices continued to tumble today, Feb. 23, hitting a four-day losing streak on the release of some US economic data, as prospects of sharp policy tightening by the Federal Reserve remain anchored.

Fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) in the US, the sum of all goods and services produced for the October-to-December 2022 period, rose at a 2.7% annualized pace. That is less than the previous estimate of 2.9% growth in the quarter.

Separate economic readings showed that US initial jobless claims amounted to 192,000 applications in the week ended Feb. 18, down 3,000 from the prior week, beating forecasts of an uptick to 200,000.

Nearly all Fed policymakers rallied behind a decision to further slow the pace of interest rate hikes, meeting minutes released on Feb. 22 showed. They, however, noted that curbing unacceptably high inflation would be the "key factor" in how much further rates need to rise.

In terms of trading, gold for April delivery slumped 0.8%, or $14.70, to $1,826.80 an ounce.

On the other hand, the US dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, made a marginal gain of 0.08% to 104.666 points at 9:57 pm Makkah time.