By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Gold was down on Monday morning in Asia as the Fed signaled an earlier interest rate hike, while fears over the Omicron COVID-19 variant spreading continues.
Gold futures edged down 0.18% to $1,801.65 by 11:26 PM ET (4:26 AM GMT).
The dollar, which normally moves inversely to gold, inched up on Monday after Fed Governor Chris Waller said on Friday the central bank is likely to raise interest rates “shortly after” the end of bond purchases in March 2022.
The rapid transmission of the Omicron variant is also on the radar of investors. The World Health Organization said on Saturday that the number of Omicron cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with local infections, but the severity of the variant remained unclear.
Americans are urged by U.S. health officials to take booster shots, wear masks.
Several European countries may tighten restrictions over surging Omicron cases ahead of Christmas and New Year holidays.
The U.K. is warning that it may impose new restrictions ahead of Christmas, as the country detected 12,000 cases on Sunday. The Netherlands has gone into lockdown over the weekend.
In other precious metals, silver was up 0.1%, palladium slid 1.8% and platinum was down 0.2%.