Gold Price Slides to $1,147.85 as Fed Talks Begin

Investors shifted away from gold on Tuesday, with the metal’s price declining 0.5 percent, to $1,147.85 per ounce, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, US gold futures for April delivery increased $1.10, to $1,154.30 an ounce.

The shift came as the Federal Reserve began a two-day monetary policy meeting that is expected to hasten the approach of a hike in interest rates. Gold has dropped steadily as investors move their attention to riskier investments that could hold higher returns if interest rates increase. The metal’s losses will increase if the Fed acts as expected, and removes cautious language from its statements on monetary policy.

Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, stated “[w]e … expect gold to fall further if the Fed removes the word ‘patient’ from their statement and the trading action could be very volatile for investors.”