Gold prices end lower ahead of Fed meeting minutes

Gold prices finished in the red today, Jan. 3, with the US dollar rising ahead of the release of minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting, during which interest rates were fixed for the fourth time since the start of the current tightening cycle in March 2022.

Bullion for February delivery tumbled by approximately 1.5%, or $30.6, at $2,042.8 per ounce — the lowest close since Dec. 18, 2023, after touching $2,038.3 an ounce in early trading.

On the other hand, the US dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six major currencies, increased 0.4% to 102.61 points at 09:33 pm Makkah time.

Official data revealed that US job openings fell in November 2023 to their lowest level since March 2021, at 8.79 million jobs, a decrease of 62,000 jobs from the previous month’s reading, which was revised upward, and against expectations for 8.77 million job opportunities.

Markets are pricing in a 91.2% chance that the Fed will hold interest rates at the current range at this month’s meeting. There was also a slight pullback in expectations for a 25-basis-point rate cut decision at the US central bank’s meetings in March (69.8%), May (63.2%) and June (60.4%).