29.09.202118:59:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Lower For 2nd Straight Day

Gold prices drifted lower on Wednesday and pushed the most active gold futures contract to their lowest settlement in nearly six month, as the dollar climbed on hopes about the Fed tapering its bond-buying program in the foreseeable future.

The dollar index climbed to a fresh yearly high at 94.43, gaining more than 0.7%. It subsequently pared some gains and was hovering around 94.30.

Gold futures for December ended down by $14.60 or about 0.8% at $1,722.90 an ounce, losing for a second straight session.

Silver futures for December ended lower by $0.982 at $21.485 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $4.1990 per pound, down $0.0475 from the previous close.

Data released by the National Association of Realtors showed pending home sales skyrocketed by much more than expected in the month of August, after falling in the previous two months.

NAR said its pending home sales soared by 8.1% to 119.5 in August after tumbling by 2% to a revised 110.5 in July.

Economists had expected pending home sales to jump by 1.4% compared to the 1.8% slump originally reported for the previous month.

The pending home sales index reached its highest level since January but was still down by 8.3% compared to the same month a year ago.