Gold slides to 2-week low

Gold fell to a two-week low on Monday. Spot gold was down 0.4 percent at $1,335.97 an ounce at 1130 GMT, while US gold futures for December delivery were down $6.30 an ounce at $1,339.90. 
Silver hit a seven-week low of $18.77 an ounce and was later down 1.7 percent at $18.95. 
Platinum was down 0.1 percent at $1,109.80, while palladium was 0.6 percent lower at $706.10. 

The world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund (ETF), New York-listed SPDR Gold Shares, reported an outflow of 4.5 tons last week, adding to the near 20-ton drop in its holdings the previous week, data from the fund showed. 
“ETF accumulation has stopped while hedge funds cut longs in five out of the past six weeks,” Saxo Bank’s head of commodity research, Ole Hansen, said. “I think (gold) looks exposed to further short-term weakness.” “(There is a) focus on Jackson Hole, with Fischer and Dudley both having raised the curtain for a potential rate hike.” Central bankers from around the world will gather from Aug. 25 for an annual meeting in the mountains of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with Chair Janet Yellen due to speak the following day. 
The dollar rose further against the yen and euro on Monday as traders reassessed expectations for Fed action on rates after policymakers’ comments last week. 
“The US economic indicators are looking healthy and the probability of a US rate hike will go up further in the coming months, rallying the dollar and putting pressure on gold,” said OCBC Bank analyst Barnabas Gan. Speculators again decreased their bullish positions in COMEX gold and silver contracts in the week to Aug. 16.

Source: Arab News