On Wednesday, gold prices decreased during the European trading session, maintaining in the usual range, as traders are hesitant to make big bets on the eve of the long-awaited speech of the Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen later this week.
As of 06:47 GMT, gold, traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, for December delivery fell $ 5.65, or 0.42%, to $ 1340.45 per troy ounce. On Tuesday, gold rose $ 2.70, or 0.2%.
On Friday, market participants' attention will be focused on the performance of the Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen at the annual meeting of leading bankers and economists of the global central banks in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in the search for fresh signals on the timing of the next interest rate increase in the United States. Fed's annual symposium is sometimes used by chairmen of the Central Bank to make important political statements.
The chances of a rate hike next month increased after important comments from several Fed officials, including Fed vice Chair, Stanley Fischer, and the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, William Dudley.
According to the forecast for the Fed rate, currently the futures on the federal funds estimate the probability of an increase in US interest rates in September to 21% compared to only 12% at the beginning of the last week. Chances are estimated to rise about 50% in December.
The precious metal is sensitive to the rate increase in the US because its growth deprives investors of income from investments in gold, contributing to the strengthening of the dollar, in which the gold price is expressed.
The USD Index, which tracks the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major rivals, was traded on Wednesday morning at 94.65, keeping a distance from an eight-week low 94.05, achieved last week.