Gold prices drifted lower on Monday, extending losses to a fifth straight session, as a stronger dollar and rising Treasury yields weighed on the yellow metal.
Rising prospects of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates by 50 basis points after its meeting in May and increasing possibility of further hikes in subsequent months to combat soaring inflation buoyed up the dollar.
The dollar index climbed to 101.86, a fresh 25-month high before easing slightly to 101.73, still up by a solid 51% from the previous close.
Gold futures for June ended lower by $38.30 or about 2% at $1,896.00 an ounce, recovering from a low of $1,891.80. Gold futures recorded their lowest settlement since February 25.
Silver futures for May ended down by $0.589 at $23.670 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $4.4490 per pound, down $0.1325 from the previous close.
A sell-off in global stock markets amid reports about a spike in Covid cases in China's capital city of Beijing and possibility of the Chinese government extending its Covid restrictions to Beijing helped limit gold's downside.
