Commodity Tips: Bullion hits reverse gear on Fed rate hike bets

Commodity Tips: Gold futures ended lower in the domestic market on Wednesday as investors and speculators exited positions in the precious metal as Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s remarks overnight in which she signaled that a December interest rate hike was a “live possibility” weighed on the yellow metal which becomes less attractive in a rising interest rate scenario.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled that borrowing costs may be raised before the end of 2015 amidst a strengthening US labour market recovery, curbing the lure for Gold as a store of value and boosting the dollar which made the bullion more expensive for those holding other currencies.

Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer stressed that inflation wasn’t too far below the central bank’s goal while New York Fed President William Dudley echoed Yellen’s remarks over a rate lift-off in December if economic data continued to remain strong.

Private payrolls in the US climbed 182,000 in October, following a revised 190,000 in September, and beating forecasts for an 180,000 gain, signaling a strengthening US labour market recovery that bolstered the case for policy tightening for the first time in almost a decade.

Gold futures may trade on a cautious note today as investors remain jittery ahead of Friday’s US non-farm payrolls data.

At the MCX, Gold futures for December 2015 contract closed at Rs 25,771 per 10 gram, down by 0.58 per cent after opening at Rs 25,940, against the previous closing price of Rs 25,922. It touched the intra-day low of Rs 25,732.