Gold Prices Affected by U.S. Debt Ceiling Agreement and Interest Rate Hike Expectations

Gold prices remained at their lowest level in two months, as optimism over reaching an agreement on the U.S. debt ceiling and reduced expectations for the Federal Reserve (U.S. central bank) to halt interest rate increases in June weakened the appeal of the precious metal. Spot gold prices fell by 0.2%, while U.S. gold futures decreased by 0.3%. Markets now predict only a 39.9% chance that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged. As for other precious metals, spot silver dropped by 0.7%, while platinum increased by 0.3% and palladium rose by 1.1%.