Gold under pressure ahead of Powell's congressional testimony

Gold prices declined in European trade for the fourth straight session as the dollar index gains ground against major rivals ahead of Fed Chair Powell's testimony. 

Prices Today

Gold prices declined 0.5% today to $1,823 an ounce, after losing 0.2% yesterday, the third loss in a row on slow demand on the precious metal. 

The Dollar

The dollar index rose 0.5% after a two-day hiatus from gains against a basket of major rivals. 

a Higher dollar weighs heavily on gold prices and other dollar-denominated metals. 

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is testifying today ahead of Congress to provide more clues on the future of interest rates. 

The Fed took a historic decision last week by hiking rates by 75 basis points 1.75%, the highest such hike since 1994. 

Estimates 

Analysts now expect to head towards the barrier of $1,800 and possibly slide below it in the next few weeks if the Fed maintained bullish remarks. 

The SDPR 

Gold holdings at the SPDR Gold Trust fell 1.74 tones yesterday to a total of 1,073 tones.