By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Gold was down on Wednesday morning in Asia, over rising Treasury yields and the strengthening U.S. dollar.
Gold prices fell about 1% during the previous session and recorded a second consecutive month of declines in May.
Gold futures were down 0.48% to $1,839.50 by 11:18 PM ET (3:19 AM GMT). The dollar, which normally moves inversely to gold, was up on Wednesday.
U.S. President Joe Biden met with the U.S. Fed Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday with historic inflation. Biden stressed that he respects the central bank’s independence but also affirmed a “laser focus on addressing inflation” ahead of the November midterms.
To combat inflation, the Fed will start shrinking its $8.9 trillion balance sheet and release its Beige Book later in the day.
However, investors are also concerned about a potential recession caused by monetary tightening, with many investors priced in two half-point interest rate hikes in June and July.
In Asia Pacific, Shanghai eased its lockdown on June 1, which raises hope for economic recovery. The China Caixin manufacturing purchasing index released earlier in the day recorded 48.1 in May, which is above the 46 recorded in April 2022 and a forecast of 48 prepared by Investing.com.
Australia’s GDP grew 0.8% quarter-on-quarter and 3.3% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022, according to data released earlier in the day.
In other precious metals, silver fell 0.67%. Platinum gained 0.38% and palladium edged down 0.11%.