Hawkish commentary by Fed officials, headwinds for XAU

Elsewhere a slew of Federal Reserve (Fed) officials during the week stated that more rate hikes are coming as the US central bank battles to curb inflation. New York Fed President John Williams commented on moving the Federal Funds rate (FFR) to 5%-5.25%. At the same time, Minnesota’s Fed President Neil Kashkari, a voter in the FOMC in 2023, said that the FFR needs to go as high as 5.4%.

Echoing some of their comments was Lisa D. Cook, who said that it’s appropriate to move in “smaller steps” while the Fed assesses the effects of cumulative tightening. Later the Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said that the Fed is “unequivocally” hitting the brakes on the economy.

Gold weakens as US Treasury bond yields and the USD rise

In the meantime, US Treasury bond yields continued to underpin the US Dollar (USD). The 10-year benchmark note rate is up six bps, at around weekly highs of 3.728%, a headwind for XAU’s prices. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the buck’s value vs. a basket of peers, advances 0.37% daily, up at 103.57.