Gold: Down for 4th day in a row, losses of more than 2% on the month

Gold moved into the red for a fourth straight session on Thursday, extending losses of more than 2% on a monthly basis, according to FactSet data.

“A strong dollar and interest rate hike concerns continue to weigh on the precious metal, with gold unable to benefit from continued investor aversion to risk-on positions,” Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at City Index and FOREX.com.

The drop in gold and silver prices this week was a belated reaction to heightened dovishness by the Federal Reserve and other central banks, analyst Bart Melek told MarketWatch.

The prospect of higher interest rates has dampened demand for gold, making bonds a more attractive investment compared to the precious metal.

Powell said on Wednesday there was “no guarantee” the Fed could drive inflation to its 2 percent target without weakening the robust US labor market.

Melek estimated that gold will continue to move lower identifying the next technical support level for gold at $1,795 per ounce.

Naeem Aslam, an analyst at AvaTrade, said he expects gold to remain volatile as traders weigh risks in a highly uncertain environment and should move to keep the price of the precious metal from collapsing.

In this climate, Mr gold U.S. crude for August delivery fell $10.20, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,807.30 an ounce on Thursday, its lowest level since February.

As for the rest of the metals, the September delivery contract for the silver slipped 57.3 cents, or 2.8%, to $20.165 an ounce, while platinum for October delivery lost $24.90, or 2.7%, to $885 an ounce.

The palladium for September delivery lost $63.10 or 3.2% to $1,883.50 an ounce and finally the copper for September delivery lost 7.9 cents, or 2.1%, to $3.702 a pound.