Gold prices move lower 2% say Pacific Chiba Trust as it hits a six-year lows after Fed rate hike

Gold prices move lower 2% say Pacific Chiba Trust as it hits a six-year lows after Fed rate hike

Gold futures fell by nearly $30 an ounce on Thursday, moving back down to near six-year lows.

This came in first full session for gold since the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.

“Gold for February delivery traded in a broad range on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, moving between $1,046.90 and $1,073.20 an ounce before settling at $1,051.80, down 25.00 or 2.32% on the session” commented Charles Harper, Head of Corporate Finance at Pacific Chiba Trust.

The precious metal saw its worst one-day fall since late-October, marking the seventh session it crashed by more than 2% on the calendar year.

Gold likely gained support at $1,046.20, the low from Dec. 3 and was met with resistance at $1,121.90, the high from Nov. 4.

Major rate hikes, though, are viewed as bearish for gold, which struggles mightily to compete with high-yield bearing assets” commented Adam Walsh, Director of Corporate Equities at Pacific Chiba Trust.

The Federal Open Markets Committee forecasts on Wednesday that Fed Funds Rate would reach 1.4% by the end of 2016, before approaching 2.5% by the completion of 2017.The projections suggest that the FOMC could approve as many as four rate hikes next year.

The U.S. dollar Index climbed more than 0.85% to an intraday-high of 99.27. Dollar-denominated commodities such as gold become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.

Silver for March delivery tumbled 0.523 or 3.67% to 13.725 an ounce, while copper for March delivery dropped 0.028 or 1.36% to 2.043 a pound.