(Bloomberg) — Gold slipped to the lowest in two months as the dollar firmed on concerns about the delta virus strain in Europe.
Rapidly rising infections in the U.K. have prompted restrictions on travelers from the country, while Asian nations are also struggling to contain the highly transmissible Covid-19 variant. Much of the pressure on gold has come from a stronger dollar.
Bullion is headed for the biggest monthly drop in more than four years after the Federal Reserve pulled forward its forecasts for interest rate hikes. Gold has slid below $1,800 an ounce this month and traders are now focused on the timing of when policy makers may start dialing back stimulus.
Spot gold fell as much as 1.3% to $1,756.02 an ounce, the lowest since April, and was at $1,756.55 by 1:51 p.m. in London. Prices are down 8% this month, the most since November 2016. Silver, palladium and platinum all retreated. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index is up 2.1% in June, heading for the biggest monthly gain since March 2020.
Other central banks are showing hints of switching to a less dovish stance. The Bank of Japan announced Tuesday it would begin to trim its bond purchases under its new asset purchasing schedule.
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