Gold prices still down, slip below $1,700

Gold prices continued to drop today, Sept. 15, falling below the $1,700 level, weighed down by the possibility of the Federal Reserve tightening its monetary policy further next week.

Gold futures for December delivery shed 0.74% to $1,696.40 an ounce at 10:00 am Makkah time, recording the lowest level in about two months. Spot prices also fell 0.61% to $1,687.28 per ounce.

Likewise, silver futures for December delivery declined 1.07% to $19.36 per ounce. The spot price for palladium dipped by 1.33% to $2,137.26 an ounce, sith the spot price of platinum also down 0.45% to $901.98 per ounce.

Meanwhile, the main dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six currencies, gained 0.22% to 109.89 points.

Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva called for continuing to fight accelerating inflation, saying “Inflation is stubborn … We need central bankers to be equally stubborn in combating it,” Reuters reported.

This comes amid expectations that the US central bank will raise interest rates by 75 basis points (bps), though there is a 30% possibility for a 100-bp hike.