Gold Loses Its Luster as Dollar Rises

Gold prices fell on Wednesday to their lowest level in more than three weeks as the dollar strengthened ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and monetary policy indications later that day. Spot gold dropped 0.2% to $1975.07 per ounce by 07:11 GMT. Meanwhile, U.S. gold futures fell 0.2% to $1990.10. The dollar rose 0.2% against competing currencies, increasing the cost of gold for holders of other currencies. The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee is set to announce its interest rate policy at 19:00 GMT, followed by a press conference with Chairman Jerome Powell at 19:30 GMT. Traders widely expect the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged in the range of 5.25% to 5.50% this week, with approximately a 75% likelihood of a rate cut in May, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool. Market participants are also awaiting monetary policy meetings from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England on Thursday. Regarding other precious metals, silver continued its losses for the eighth session, falling 0.6% to $22.62 per ounce, while platinum declined 0.3% to $926.55 and palladium dropped 0.7% to $972.95.