On August 9, gold bars fell by 2.1%, or $36.60, ending the session on the New York COMEX Exchange at $1,726.50. This is the lowest value since March 31.
Also during yesterday's trading, the main precious metal fell to $1,672.80, which is the lowest intraday level since about June, according to FactSet data.
Monday's drop came after the quotes collapsed by 2.5% last Friday, pushing gold to the sharpest weekly decline since mid-June. It can be recalled that during the last seven-day period, the asset sank by almost 3%.
Last week, the main downward factor for the yellow metal was the release of statistics on the American labor market. The report for July indicated an increase in jobs, a decrease in the unemployment rate, and wage growth.
All indicators turned out to be better than forecasts, which increased fears about a tightening of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy sooner than expected.
The strong data that triggered the dollar rally continued to influence gold pricing on Monday. However, analysts do not believe that they were the main culprit of such a sharp pullback of quotations.
A more real reason is the low trading volumes in Asia, which were observed against the backdrop of holidays in Japan and Singapore. This factor, according to experts, provoked the increased volatility of commodities on Monday.
Meanwhile, all popular metals, without exception, showed a downward trend yesterday. However, the mood in the commodity markets has changed a little today.
The US currency, which has been growing steadily for the last two sessions, finally took a breather. So, at the time of preparation of the material, the dollar index remained stable in relation to its competitors, which allowed the demand for safe-haven assets to grow.
On Tuesday morning, gold rose by 0.5%, or $9.3, jumping to $1,735.60.
Meanwhile, silver added 1.47% and was trading at $23.61. Copper rose by 0.45%, jumping to $4.3113. Platinum rose by 0.3%, reaching $983.01. And the cost of palladium increased by 0.4%, amounting to $2611.75.
Analysts note that the metal market is currently undergoing a correction stage and is trying to consolidate after an aggressive surge in volatility the day before.
However, it is not worth waiting for a miracle in the short term: the expectation that the Fed will tend to reduce stimulus measures, and then eventually raise interest rates, still puts strong pressure on the quotes.
The tone of the regulator is becoming more and more "hawkish". Recently, two representatives of the Fed said that the US economy is growing rapidly. And while there is still room for improvement in the labor market, inflation is already at a level that can satisfy one stage of the key test needed to start raising interest rates.
