Gold continues to slide as dollar rallies

Gold prices fell on Wednesday, deepening losses for the second straight day as profit taking from a 10-week high continued, while the US dollar rose against other major currencies.

Gold prices fell 0.3% to $1,774.23 an ounce, after opening at $1,778.79, and hit a low of $1,783.41.

Gold closed lost 0.8% yesterday, on profit taking from a 10-week high at $1,799.14 an ounce.

The dollar index rose 0.1%, and hit a 2-week high at 91.43 points, which weighs down on demand for gold and other dollar denominated metals.

The greenback is rallying due to investors' risk aversion and after the broad sell-off wave of the US tech stocks, in addition to comments about tightening the US monetary policy.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that higher interest rates might be necessary to keep the economy from overheating, albeit she later emphasized that she was not making a recommendation, however, the continued recent comment about tightening the US monetary policy have had an impact on markets that depend on monetary stimulus.

Markets are awaiting a slew of US jobs data this week, which provide key cues on the US growth pace, however, the rising US inflation may force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates early in 2022, after it was planned to begin tightening monetary policy in 2023.

Gold stocks at the SPDR ETF remained unchanged yesterday, at total of 1,018.20 metric tons.