Spot gold fell for a fourth straight session to $4,115.96 an ounce Wednesday, with investors also focused on oil prices, inflation and the Federal Reserve’s approaching rate decision.
Reuters reported the spot price was down 0.2% at 3:17 a.m. ET (07:17 UTC). U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 0.2% to $4,133.60 an ounce. Gold had already slipped below $4,150 on Monday.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) measured a 0.6% monthly rise in its seasonally adjusted consumer price index in September. More than half of that increase came from gasoline, whose seasonally adjusted index climbed 9.1%. On an unadjusted basis, the overall index stood 3.7% above its year-earlier level.
Oil supply remains part of the inflation picture. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts Brent spot crude will average $105 a barrel in the fourth quarter, $14 above its previous estimate. The agency cited constrained Middle East oil flows and higher tanker and insurance costs, which raise the cost of crude delivered to refiners.
The Fed raised its target interest-rate range by a quarter percentage point to 3.75%–4% on Sept. 16. Among the 18 participants who submitted rate projections at that meeting, 16 anticipated at least one more increase before year-end. Those individual assessments do not commit the committee to a move at its next meeting.
In an Oct. 8 speech, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher J. Waller said further increases need not occur at consecutive meetings, but should take place within a timeframe he considered acceptable. Higher rates can increase the cost of holding gold relative to interest-paying assets because bullion provides no interest income.
The Fed is scheduled to meet Oct. 27–28. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is due to release September personal income and outlays data, including the personal consumption expenditures price index, at 8:30 a.m. EDT Oct. 29, after the meeting.
