Gold’s price continues to decline as hopes fade for the U.S. Federal Reserve to lower interest rates this year.
Fears that surging crude oil ​prices will lead to a rise in inflation have hurt expectations for interest rate cuts in the near-term, exerting downward pressure on gold’s price.
​Lower interest rates tend to benefit non-yielding assets such as gold bullion.
Gold is currently trading right at $5,000 U.S., down from an all-time high of $5,589.38 U.S. per ounce reached on Jan. 28 of this year.
At the same time, Brent crude oil, the international standard, is trading right around $105 U.S. a barrel, up more than 40% so far in March after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.
The U.S. Federal Reserve meets this week for a two-day policy ⁠meeting, where it is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at current levels.
Wall Street had been pricing in two 25-basis point interest rate cuts from the U.S. central bank this year, but those hopes are now fading as war in the Middle East stokes inflation fears.
Other central ⁠banks such as the European Central Bank, Bank of England, ⁠and the Bank of Japan also meet this week, with expectations that they too will hold interest rates steady.
In a note to clients, analysts at Swiss bank UBS (UBS) wrote: "We expect central banks to be watchful of inflation risks without making knee-jerk policy rate hikes."
Gold’s price decline has dragged lower stocks of several mining companies, including Newmont (NYSE: $NEM) and Barrick Gold (NYSE: $B).
COMTEX_475373497/2797/2026-03-16T14:21:07