RIYADH: Gold prices fell on Thursday to their lowest in nearly a year, as prospects of more interest rate hikes by major central banks to combat soaring inflation weighed on bullion’s appeal.
Although gold is seen as a hedge against inflation, rising interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding bullion, which pays no interest.
Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at $1,691.84 per ounce by 0313 GMT, after falling to its lowest since early August 2021 at $1,689.40 earlier in the session.
US gold futures fell 0.6 percent to $1,690.40 per ounce.
Silver falls
Spot silver fell 0.6 percent to $18.54 per ounce, while platinum dipped 0.5 percent to $854.03.
Palladium rose 0.3 percent to $1,867.20.
Corn down
Chicago corn futures lost more ground on Thursday as forecasts for rains in dry parts of the US Midwest raised hopes of a bumper crop.
Wheat edged up as the market awaited Egyptian wheat purchase negotiations as well as talks on a possible deal to resume sea grain shipments from war-torn Ukraine.
The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 0.7 percent to $5.85-3/4 a bushel, as of 0223 GMT and soybeans lost 0.3 percent to $13.28 a bushel.
Wheat gained marginally to $8.19-3/4 a bushel.
Copper retreats
Copper retreated on Thursday, weighed down by concerns of a further slowdown in demand as US housing data cemented fears about a global recession.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was done 1.19 percent to $7,290 a ton by 0312 GMT, while the most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 0.53 percent to $8,287.62 a ton.
Among other metals, LME zinc fell 1.4 percent to $2,965.5 a ton and lead declined 0.9 percent to $2,015 a ton.
(With input from Reuters)