Strong dollar pressures US Gold Scrap, Gold Futures prices

UNITED STATES January 13 2016 9:33 PM

NEW YORK (Scrap Register): United States gold scrap prices continued to decline on Tuesday, while gold futures prices at New York Mercantile Exchange settled lower on the back of a strengthening US dollar.

The major gold scrap commodities on the Scrap Register Price Index continued to trade down on Tuesday. The 9ct hallmarked gold scrap prices decreased to $394.814 an ounce and 14ct hallmarked gold scrap prices dropped to $615.91 an ounce. The 18ct hallmarked gold scrap and 22ct hallmarked gold scrap prices also declined at $789.628 ounce and $964.4 an ounce respectively.

According to Scrap Register Price Index, the 9ct non-hallmarked gold scrap prices also dropped to $373.445 an ounce and 14ct non-hallmarked gold scrap prices down to $582.575 an ounce on Tuesday. The 18ct non-hallmarked gold scrap and 22ct non-hallmarked gold scrap prices are also traded higher at $746.891 an ounce and $912.203 an ounce respectively.

However, the most active February gold contract on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled slightly down by $11 an ounce to $1,085.20 an ounce on Tuesday.

Gold futures prices at New York Mercantile Exchange settled down as stocks showed signs of stabilizing after brutal losses in recent weeks, limiting gold's safe haven appeal. 

Concerns about slowing physical demand for gold also weighed, as traders continued to take profits from gold's rise to 3-month highs last week. 

Gold has rallied this year as investors seek safer assets amid gyrations in Chinese financial markets and increased geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and around North Korea. 

Meanwhile IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said that the Federal Reserve risks damaging a host of Emerging Market economies if it fails to raise interest rates gradually over the next year.