Gold hits lowest since 2010 as dollar firms

Customers look at gold necklaces at a jewelry store in Xuchang, Henan province - REUTERS

Reuters: Gold prices hit their lowest in nearly six years on Wednesday as the dollar rose and investors braced for the first U.S. interest rate rise in nearly a decade next month.

The other precious metals followed gold down, with silver dropping to a fresh 2-1/2-month low and platinum tapping a seven-year low.

Spot gold was down 0.20% at $1,068.6 an ounce at 0353 GMT, after falling to $1,064.95 earlier in the day, the lowest since February 2010.

U.S. gold futures for December delivery were down 0.12% at $1,067.3.

Bullion prices have fallen for 15 out of 16 sessions under pressure from expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve is set to raise interest rates next month.

Data on Tuesday showing U.S. consumer prices increased in October further fuelled those expectations.

The dollar sat near a 7-month high against a basket of currencies as the euro slid on expectations for more monetary easing by the European Central Bank in December.

“We saw a pop in the last few days, but the knee jerk reaction didn’t really last. The overriding factor has been the rising dollar and the expectation of Fed hiking rates in December,” said Victor Thianpiriya, analyst at ANZ.

However, heightened security concerns in Europe after Friday night’s attacks in Paris in which 129 people were killed continue to underpin gold’s safe-have appeal.

German authorities have called off a soccer game which Chancellor Angela Merkel was due to attend, citing threats of bombing, while two Air France flights to Paris from the United States have been diverted.