Investing.com - Gold prices fell on Wednesday, pressured lower by strength in the dollar and Treasury yields after the U.S. withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran, which kept prices within reach of two month lows.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the international nuclear deal with Iran, raising the risk of conflict in the Middle East and a knock-on effect for global oil supplies and the global economy.
Gold futures for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped $8.10 or 0.62% to $1,305.60 a troy ounce by 04:27 AM ET (08:27 AM GMT).
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, hit a high of 93.20, the most since December 19 and was last at 93.15.
The dollar was boosted as the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes rose above the psychologically important 3% level to the highest level in two weeks as a rally in oil prices boosted inflation expectations.
A rise above the high of 3.035% reached on April 25 would take the U.S. 10-year yield to its highest since early 2014.
A stronger U.S. currency makes dollar denominated gold more expensive for overseas buyers, while higher Treasury yields tend to make gold, which does not pay interest, less attractive to yield seeking investors.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures were down 0.32% to $16.42, while platinum futures were almost unchanged at $911.60.
Among base metals, copper futures slipped 0.2% to trade at $3.052 a pound.