"Gold's appeal as a safe haven is waning": the price has fallen below $4,100

Gold prices are falling for the second day in a row due to pressure from a strengthening U.S. dollar and a global sell-off in the technology sector of the stock market. The stock market decline has prompted market participants to reduce their positions in the precious metal to cover losses on other assets, according to Bloomberg.

During trading on June 24, the spot price of gold fell by 1.6% to $4,050 per ounce. The previous day, prices had dropped by 1.7%, closing at a two-week low. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury bonds rose, and the dollar index has gained 0.7% since the start of the week, making gold, which is denominated in U.S. dollars, more expensive for buyers.

"The price of this precious metal is 'increasingly aligning with real returns,'" noted Christopher Wong, a strategist at Oversea-Chinese Banking.

Macquarie Group has joined a number of banks in revising their gold price forecasts downward. It lowered its estimates for the third and fourth quarters to $4,450 and $4,300 per ounce, respectively. This still implies an increase in prices, albeit a smaller one: 9% by the end of the third quarter and 5.5% by the end of the fourth.

"The apparent end to the conflict in the Middle East, combined with a more 'hawkish' stance by the Fed, has led to a decline in prices, as gold's appeal as a safe haven is waning," Macquarie experts noted in a research note, as quoted by Bloomberg.

Earlier, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs also revised their forecasts, with Deutsche Bank cutting its third-quarter target by 22% and now forecasting a gold price of $4,300 per ounce.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor