LONDON: Gold dipped almost 2 per cent on Tuesday as the dollar extended gains following a raft of strong US data and recent comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that reinforced the central bank’s tightening bias on monetary policy.

Spot gold dropped to a two-week low of $1,185.35 an ounce earlier and was down 1.6pc at $1,187.59 by 1413 GMT.

US gold futures for June delivery were down $16.70 at $1,187.30 an ounce.

The dollar continued its strong run, up 1.2pc against a basket of leading currencies. A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of other currencies, while higher US interest rates would dent demand for the non-interest-paying metal, increasing the opportunity cost of holding it.

Silver fell 2.2pc to a two-week low of $16.62 an ounce. Platinum dropped 2.1pc to $1,123.49 an ounce and palladium slipped 0.3pc to $783.47 an ounce.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2015

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