23.11.201622:52:00UTC+00Gold Reaches Eight-Month Low on Firm Dollar

Gold prices declined to an eight-month low, pulled down by the U.S. dollar climbing and expectations for an interest-rate hike by year-end. Gold for December delivery was down 1.8 percent at $1,189.30 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Spot gold fell 1.9 percent at $1,188.82 per ounce. The WSJ Dollar Index rose 0.6 percent at 91.86. A firm U.S. currency makes dollar-denominated gold more expensive for foreign buyers. Higher rates tend to affect gold, that pays its holders nothing and struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when borrowing costs increase. Traders are pricing in a 100 percent likelihood of a December rate hike, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Silver was down by as much as three percent to $16.14 per ounce. Platinum lost one percent at $927.40 while palladium fell 0.5 percent at $736.50.