2023.10.0318:13:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Lower As Dollar, Bond Yields Rise

Gold prices fell on Tuesday as the dollar climbed up and Treasury yields soared to 16-year high amid continued bets the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates higher for longer to tame inflation.

Fairly upbeat U.S. economic data, and disappointing data from several parts of the globe contributed as well to dollar's uptick.

The dollar climbed to an 11-month high today, reacting to hawkish remarks by Federal Reserve officials. The dollar index surged to 107.35 before paring some gains. Still, at 107.08, the index was up nearly 0.2% from the previous close.

Gold futures for December ended lower by $5.70 at $1,841.50 an ounce.

Silver futures for December ended down $0.044 at $21.377 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $3.6210 per pound, losing $0.0205.

Fed Governor Michelle Bowman indicated on Monday that multiple interest-rate hikes may be required to get inflation down to the Fed's 2 percent target.

Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr said his focus is on how long to hold rates high.

Cleveland Fed leader Loretta Mester also said the Fed's work is likely not done and one more rate hike may be needed this year.

Data from the Labor Department unexpectedly showed a notable increase in U.S. job openings in the month of August.

The data said job openings surged to 9.61 million in August from an upwardly revised 8.92 million in July.

The jump surprised economists, who had expected job openings to edge down to 8.80 million from the 8.83 million originally reported for the previous month.

The data has added to concerns about the outlook for interest rates amid worries strength in the labor market could convince the Federal Reserve to raise rates higher than had been anticipated and keep rates an elevated level for longer than expected.