Gold dips ahead of Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech; set for weekly fall

Gold prices dipped on Friday, indicating a potential weekly decline, as investors awaited key remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole symposium. The spot price of gold fell by 0.4% to $4,584.30 an ounce, while U.S. Gold Futures slipped 0.6% to $4,638.41. Earlier in the week, the yellow metal had reached a three-month peak near $4,700 per ounce, driven by concerns over U.S. fiscal policy and Treasury interventions to support longer-dated bonds.

However, gold has struggled to sustain its recent rally, slipping for three consecutive weeks. The metal's decline is attributed to cautious positioning by investors ahead of Warsh's speech, set for 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) on Friday. This first major address as Fed chair at Jackson Hole is generating significant interest, as the central bank's approach to interest rates and inflation will be closely scrutinized.

Recent economic data, such as the personal consumption expenditures price index, which rose 3.7% in the year through July, has fueled expectations that the Fed may raise interest rates this year. This outlook has made gold less attractive compared to interest-bearing investments, contributing to its recent downward trend. Despite the pullback, the overall environment continues to be favorable for gold, with the metal having gained over 13% in August.

Meanwhile, silver prices decreased by 0.4% to $69.02 per ounce, platinum slipped by 0.3% to $1,884.00 per ounce, and benchmark Copper Futures on the London Metal Exchange edged up by 0.2% to $14,319.15 per ton, while U.S. Copper Futures also rose by 0.2% to $6.60 per pound.