2018.09.2714:20:00UTC+00Gold Futures Decline, Settle At 6-week Low

Gold futures slipped to their lowest settlement in six weeks on Thursday, as the dollar gained in strength against most major currencies after the Fed raised interest rate and hinted at more hikes over the next one year.

Some upbeat U.S. economic data too contributed to the greenback's uptick. The dollar index rose to 94.48, gaining over 0.6%.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve hiked interest rate by 25 basis points and the Fed's accompanying statement hinted at another hike in December and three more rate increases in 2019.

Gold futures for December ended down $11.70, or 1%, at $1,187.40 an ounce, the lowest close since August 17.

On Wednesday, gold futures ended down $6.00, at $1,199.10 an ounce.

Silver futures for December ended lower by $0.111, at $14.290 an ounce, while Copper futures settled at $2.7830 per pound, losing $0.0450 for the session.

The Fed, which dropped the word "accommodative" to describe its monetary policy stance in its statement, said the change does not signal any change in the bank's path toward normalizing monetary policy.

The central bank revised upward the outlook for GDP growth in 2018 to 3.1% from 2.8%, while the median projection for GDP growth in 2019 inched up to 2.5% from 2.4%.

Data released by the Commerce Department today showed new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods jumped much more than expected in the month of August, surging up by 4.5%, after falling by a revised 1.2% in July.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to climb by 2% compared to the 1.7% slump that had been reported for the previous month.

Another report from the Commerce Department showed the pace of U.S. economic growth in the second quarter was unrevised from the previous estimate. The report said gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 4.2% in the second quarter, unchanged from the estimate released last month.