-- (Updates prices.)
Gold traded at a month low midafternoon Tuesday as rising oil prices threaten to boost inflation and raise interest rates, while the dollar and treasury yields moved higher.
Gold for June delivery was last seen down US$82.80 to US$4,610.90 per ounce, the lowest since March 30.
The drop comes as the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee begins its two-day meeting that ends with a decision on interest rates. While the committee is widely expected to leave rates unchanged, it comes as oil prices surge with the war on Iran choking off 20% of daily supply from Persian Gulf nations, boosting inflation while stalling global growth.
"The stagflationary impact of the energy crisis, combined with mounting fiscal debt concerns and an ongoing de-dollarisation trend, remains supportive over the longer term, with these drivers currently being overshadowed by the market's near-term focus on oil-driven inflation," Saxo Bank noted.
The dollar roserly, with the ICE dollar index last seen up 0.12 points to 98.62. Treasury yields were also higher, bearish for gold since it pays no interest. The U.S. two-year note was last seen paying 3.85%, up 4.7 basis points, while the yield on the 10-year note was up 1.8 points to 4.363%.