Gold prices extended their decline and briefly fell below the 2020 mark, with hawkish comments from Fed officials pushing the dollar higher

(1) Gold prices fell further on Wednesday, with spot gold briefly falling below the 2020 mark, hitting a new low of $2017.51 an ounce in nearly a week, as traders awaited more Fed officials to speak this week as hawkish comments from a Federal Reserve official weighed on expectations of a March rate cut. (2) Michael Langford, chief investment officer of Scorpion Minerals Ltd., said that the flow of funds to the US dollar is a key driver affecting the gold price, which could fall to around $2,000 per ounce in the short term. (3) Fed Governor Waller said on Tuesday that the U.S. is “close” to the Fed’s 2% inflation target, but that the Fed is not rushing to cut interest rates until it is clear that inflation will continue to come down. (4) Waller’s comments triggered a broad sell-off, pulling down the three major U.S. stock indexes, and U.S. Treasury yields also posted their biggest one-day rise in more than three months on Tuesday. (5) The appreciation of the US dollar has made gold more expensive for investors holding other currencies, Intrerest Raterise it has also drop the attractiveness of gold. (6) Traders are pricing in about a 65% chance of a Fed rate cut in March, down from about 75% on Tuesday morning, according to the CME FedWatch tool. (7) Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, wrote in a note: “While escalating geopolitical tensions may boost gold’s appeal as a safe haven, the short-term fate of gold is likely to be in the hands of the bond market”