Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said on Tuesday that she currently envisages more than three U.S. interest rate hikes for this year. "I actually built into my forecast more than three as I have the economy a bit stronger than the median forecast," Mester told reporters.
Gold for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 0.10% to $1,245.25 a troy ounce. Silver futures dipped 0.23% to $17.543 a troy ounce while copper was last quoted at $2.609 a pound.
Overnight, gold prices traded higher despite better than expected economic data. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday, the current account deficit, which measures the difference in value between exported good, service and interest payments, fell 3.1% to $112.4 billion.
Economists had expected the current account deficit to shrink to $128.2 billion.
Meanwhile, a slump in dollar continued to lend support to gold prices, after the US Dollar Index dipped below the 100 level, hitting a 6-week low of 99.50, as the Federal Reserve’s somewhat dovish statement on rate hikes last week, continued to weigh on the greenback.
Elsewhere, investors welcomed the first round of Federal Reserve speakers, after the U.S. Central Bank raised rates last Wednesday. FOMC member William Dudley spoke at an event in New York City, but did not discuss monetary policy.
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