FX.co ★ Gold Futures Settle Slightly Lower

Gold futures settled lower on Monday with investors continuing to react to the latest rate hikes by global central banks and the hawkish comments by the Federal Reserve.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said after the monetary policy meeting last Wednesday that the central bank will require "substantially more evidence" inflation is on a sustained downward trend before halting its rate hikes.

A subdued dollar helped limit gold's downside. The dollar index, which fell to 104.13 in the Asian session, recovered gradually and briefly emerged above the flat line a little before noon, but retreated soon. It was last seen at 104.57, down 0.13% from the previous close.

Gold futures for February ended down $2.50 or about 0.1% at $1,797.70 an ounce.

Silver futures for March ended lower by $0.129 at $23.199 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $3.7830 per pound, gaining 0.0215.

In U.S. economic news today, a report released by the National Association of Home Builders showed homebuilder confidence in the U.S. has unexpectedly seen a continued deterioration in the month of December.

The report showed the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell to 31 in December from 33 in November. The decreased surprised economists, who had expected the index to rise to 36.

The housing market index declined for the twelfth straight month, falling to its lowest reading since mid-2012, with the exception of the onset of the pandemic in the spring of 2020.