Gold closed sharply lower on Friday following a hawkish Thursday speech from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. Gold for December delivery closed down US$32.10 to settles at US$1,937.70 per ounce, a three week low. In a speech to the International Monetary Fund on Thursday, Powell said he is “not confident” the central bank’s interest rate hikes are sufficient to return inflation to the Fed’s 2% target, echoing similarly hawkish remarks from other members of its policy committee this week.
Still, the dollar fell, with the ICE dollar index last seen down 0.06 points to 105.85, making gold more affordable for international buyers.
