Investing.com - Gold futures extended losses from the prior session in European trade on Thursday, falling to a four-week low as investors digested hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials on the timing of the next U.S. rate hike.
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard added his support to the possibility of more U.S. interest rate hikes this year. Bullard said in an interview on Wednesday that policymakers should consider raising rates at their next meeting in April.
The hawkish comments follow similar remarks made by Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, San Francisco Fed President John Williams and Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart earlier this week.
The market will be paying attention to more comments by St. Louis Fed President James Bullard later in the day to further judge the balance of opinion among policymakers on the prospect of further rate hikes. Bullard is due to speak about the U.S. economy and monetary policy at the Association for Business Economics, in New York at 12:15GMT, or 8:15AM ET.
Gold for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange sank $7.30, or 0.6%, to trade at $1,216.70 a troy ounce by 08:20GMT, or 4:20AM ET, after hitting a session low of $1,211.20, the weakest since February 23.
A day earlier, gold plunged $24.60, or 1.97%, as hawkish comments by Federal Reserve officials boosted the U.S. dollar.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.3% at one-week highs of 96.35. A stronger dollar makes U.S. commodities more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.
Market players awaited data due later in the session that could back some Federal Reserve officials' relatively optimistic views on the U.S. economy.
The U.S. is to produce data on February durable goods orders at 12:30GMT, or 8:30AM ET, on Thursday. The report is expected to show that orders for durable goods slumped 2.8% last month, following a gain of 4.7% in January, while core orders are forecast to inch down 0.2% after rising 1.7% a month earlier.
The weekly report on initial jobless claims is also due at 8:30AM ET. Upbeat readings would help support the case for the Fed to steadily tighten monetary policy.
Despite recent losses, prices of the yellow metal are up nearly 14% so far this year as investors seek safe havens in the face of mounting instability in other financial markets and as fears over a China-led global economic slowdown make it tougher for the Fed to raise rates.
The U.S. central bank surprised markets last week by cutting its rate hike projections more than expected, down from four to two in 2016, citing the potential impact from weaker global growth and financial market turmoil on the U.S. economy.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for May delivery slumped 0.7 cents, or 0.05%, to trade at $15.26 a troy ounce during morning hours in London, while copper futures shed 0.2 cents, or 0.07%, to $2.234 a pound.