Gold is at a 15-month low and silver is at a 2-year low under pressure from the dollar

Gold suffered major losses on Thursday, with the precious metal under heavy pressure from a stronger dollar, which pushed its price to its lowest level in more than a year, while silver and platinum hit two-year lows.

According to the analysts rise of the dollar has weighed on metal prices. Today, the US currency climbed to its highest level against the Japanese yen since 1998, approaching 140 yen to the dollar, while the euro yesterday fell below parity against the dollar for the first time in almost two decades, remaining today at same levels around 1:1.

Gold’s plunge is a great opportunity for traders to accumulate the precious metal, Peter Spina, president and CEO of GoldSeek.com, told MarketWatch. “Just don’t expect an immediate run to new records.”

Gold may bounce back towards $1,900-$2,000 again, but “we are unlikely to see its price break out of the current range until we see the Fed reverse its aggressive rate hikes,” he said.

According to Craig Erlam, an analyst at OANDA, gold may look vulnerable, but “if we go into a recession, that could change,” speculating that investors seeking safety are returning to gold and bonds.

“It’s a safe haven and there may come a time when the economy buckles under the weight of inflation and interest rates and demand for gold comes back into focus,” he said.

In this climate, Mr gold August delivery fell by $29.70 or 1.7%, to settle at $1,705.80 an ounce, while intra-session it slipped up to $1,695. That was the lowest level for the yellow metal since March 30, 2021, according to FactSet data.

“Plunge” 5.1% for the silver for September delivery, with its price closing at $18.225 an ounce, the lowest level since July 1, 2020.

As for the rest of the metals, platinum U.S. crude for October delivery fell $20.50, or about 2.5%, to $817.30 an ounce, while it sank to $806.70 intra-sessionally – its lowest intra-session level since late June 2020.

The palladium for September delivery fell $73.30, or 3.7%, to $1,898.10 an ounce, while copper saw the contract for September delivery lose 11 cents, or 3.3%, to $3.2115 a pound, falling to the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2020.