Concerns about interest rates

Gold fell 1.2 percent on Thursday, following data indicating that the US economy remains strong, before offering a flat performance on the last trading day of the week. Gold fell 1.2 percent on Thursday, following data indicating that the US economy remains resilient, and remained flat on the last trading day of the week. Pressure continued on gold as concerns about aggressive interest rate hikes increased following the data. An ounce of gold was traded at around $1,794 in the spot market. Transactions for gram gold were around TL 1,077. Spot gold fell about 13 percent from its peak in March amid the Fed’s monetary tightening and the hawkish stances of other major central banks. Rising interest rates have a negative impact on the precious metal, which does not yield interest and is negatively correlated with bonds and the dollar. Initial jobless claims in the US rose below expectations, indicating the strength of the labor market. Third-quarter growth in the country was also revised from 2.9 percent to 3.2 percent.