Gold steadied near $4,000 an ounce after falling through that threshold for the first time since November, weighed down by a resurgent US dollar and the prospect of higher interest rates. Bullion was little changed in early trading on Thursday, having dropped nearly 3% in the previous session, while a gauge of the US dollar gained 0.8% this week. Federal Reserve policymakers have signaled growing support for higher borrowing costs, with new chair Kevin Warsh adopting a hawkish tone at his first rate-setting meeting last week. The recent decline ended a long-running bull run that saw gold more than double in value over three years, but the rally ran out of steam after hitting an all-time high near $5,600 an ounce in late January. Several major banks have cut their gold forecasts, with Goldman Sachs reducing its year-end target by $500 to $4,900 an ounce and Deutsche Bank cutting its fourth-quarter estimate by 17%. Spot gold was little changed at $4,000.13 an ounce at 7:25 a.m. in Singapore, while silver rose 0.3% to $57.58 an ounce after plunging 6.8% in the previous session.
Deutsche Bank AktiengesellschaftDeutsche Bank cut its fourth-quarter gold estimate by 17%, indicating a negative view on gold.
Goldman Sachs Group IncGoldman Sachs cut its year-end gold price target by $500 to $4,900, reflecting a bearish outlook on gold.