Gold today: Prices drop to near two-week low on Fed chief's hawkish stance

Gold prices dropped to a near two-week low on Monday following remarks from the US Federal Reserve Chair, Kevin Warsh. The hawkish stance suggested that interest rate hikes might be necessary to curb inflation. Spot gold fell 0.7% to $44,423.84 per ounce, its lowest since August 19, and US gold futures for December delivery declined 1.3% to $4,472.90.

Analyst Tim Waterer noted that gold was still recovering from Warsh's aggressive tone at the Jackson Hole economic symposium. The Fed will "have work to do" if they cannot prove that inflation will drop to 2% by September, Warsh said. The market now sees a 57% chance of a Fed rate hike in September, up from 36% before Warsh's comments.

A series of US labor market reports are due this week, including job openings, ADP employment report, weekly jobless claims, and nonfarm payrolls data, which could either extend gold's post-Jackson Hole decline or trigger a short-covering bounce. Oil prices surged after Iran struck two of its launchers on Larak Island, marking the first American strikes on Iran since late July. Silver, platinum, and palladium also experienced declines.