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Gold prices declined slightly in the international market on Friday as investors awaited a key speech by US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole symposium.
As of 10:38am Bangladesh time, spot gold was down 0.5pc at $4,580.19 per ounce. Earlier on Tuesday, gold reached $4,696.18 per ounce, its highest level in more than three months.
US gold futures also fell 0.7pc to $4,632.40 per ounce.
Matt Simpson, senior analyst at StoneX, said Warsh is more likely to take a hawkish stance in his speech. If he signals support for tighter monetary policy, gold prices could come under further pressure in the short term.
However, Simpson said a decline in prices could attract buyers, particularly investors who missed the initial phase of the recent rally. Fresh buying could help push gold prices back toward $5,000 per ounce.
Markets are now focused on Warsh’s speech. Analysts estimate the probability of a US interest-rate hike in September at 33.7pc , while the likelihood of a rate hike by December stands at 74.2pc.
Gold generally loses some appeal when interest rates are high because the precious metal does not generate interest or regular income. However, rising participation in exchange-traded funds and futures markets, concerns over US financial strength, and continued gold purchases by central banks in several countries are supporting prices.
Christopher Wong, a precious metals strategist at OCBC, said gold faces some risk of consolidation or a correction, but the overall trend in the precious metals market remains positive.
Meanwhile, spot silver fell 0.6pc to $68.85 per ounce on Friday. Palladium declined 0.2pc to $1,349.44 per ounce, while platinum fell 0.3pc to $1,840.78 per ounce. Platinum prices are also on track to post a weekly decline.
