Gold prices slip to lowest settlement in 5 weeks

Gold prices deepened losses at settlement today, Jan. 17, with the US dollar and bond yield still on the rise as investors digested more economic readings to build expectations about the future path of Federal Reserve policy.

Bullion for February delivery plunged by 1.15%, or $23.70, to end at $2,006.50 an ounce, the lowest since the close of the Dec. 13, 2023, session.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, gained 0.20% at 103.57 points at 09:43 pm Makkah time.

According to the US Census Bureau data, seasonally adjusted retail trade sales were up 0.60% on a monthly basis to $709.90 billion in December 2023, surpassing expectations for 0.40% growth during the same period. This reflected that US households have maintained a healthy pace of spending.

Markets are pricing in a 97.40% chance that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates during this month’s meeting. The prospect of the US central bank reducing borrowing costs by 25 basis points during the March meeting fell to 51.9% from 63.1% a day earlier, the CME FedWatch tool showed.