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Homemetal commoditiesGold slips as dollar firms on speculation over Fed chief

Gold slips as dollar firms on speculation over Fed chief

  • Dollar index hits lowest since Sept. 26.
  • Palladium touches five-week high.
  • Next Fed chair could be policy hawk, economists say in poll.
  • Trump has pool of five candidates, including incumbent Yellen.

AP

Gold fell for a third straight session on Wednesday on pressure from a firmer dollar amid speculation that the next chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve could be a policy hawk.

Spot gold was down 0.43 percent at $1,279.33 an ounce at 9 a.m. ET, having touched its lowest since Oct. 9 at $1,279.

U.S. gold futures for December delivery were off 0.37 percent at $1,281.60.

"Interest rate hikes had not been fully priced in for next year. That has changed massively following speculation that (Fed Governor Jerome) Powell might become the next chairman," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

U.S. President Donald Trump has a pool of five candidates to choose from for the next chair of the Fed and is likely to announce his choice before going to Asia in early November, a source familiar with the situation said.

Jerome Powell will likely be the next Federal Reserve chairman, according to a slim majority of economists in a Reuters poll, though most of them said that incumbent Janet Yellen would be the best option.

The dollar edged higher on the speculation and as the market awaited more detail on Trump's tax reform.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six currencies, inched up 0.13 percent to 93.60. The change followed new U.S. data, which showed that new applications for U.S. unemployment benefits last week fell to a more than one-month low after being boosted by two hurricanes.

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