Gold's decline awaits signal from Fed officials

Prices fell on Monday as investors cautiously moved away from risky assets and braced for a series of speeches this week by Fed officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell, to provide a clearer view on the Fed's interest rate cuts.

Spot gold contracts fell 0.7% to $1,979.19/oz after breaking through the key threshold of $2,000/oz on Friday. US gold futures fell 0.5% to $1,988.60 an ounce.
Precious metals are known to have appreciated more than 7% in October as the Middle East conflict increased demand for safe assets.
Wall Street's main stock indexes continued their upward trend, and the 10-year Treasury yield also rose as investors braced for speeches from at least nine officials. This week, Federal Reserve officials, including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, spoke out on November 9th.
According to CME FedWatch, traders believe there is a 90% chance the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged at its December meeting. Gold is relatively sensitive to rising US interest rates, as the opportunity cost of holding these non-yielding assets increases.
Among other metals, silver fell 0.6% to $23.05 an ounce.