Gold Price May Post Second Monthly Loss

Gold is poised to post its second monthly loss despite a minor price bump Tuesday that drove the spot price up 0.2 percent, to $1,188.60 per ounce. Gold for April delivery similarly gained 0.3 percent to hit $1,188.50 an ounce.

The metal’s decline over the past two months is largely related to investor anticipation of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike, according to Reuters, and despite Tuesday’s slight price increase, gold will probably fall further as the year progresses.

“Our best case scenario is a June rate hike and in the interim there is certainly scope for more weakness in gold,” said Nic Brown, an analyst at Natixis SA (EPA:KN).