UNITED STATES March 16 2017 6:04 PM

NEW YORK (Scrap Register): United States scrap gold prices dropped on Wednesday, while gold futures prices at New York Mercantile Exchange settled with a loss, then climbed in electronic trading, buoyed by a fall in the U.S. dollar following the Federal Reserve’s decision to increase interest rates, as expected.

The major gold scrap commodities on the Scrap Register Price Index dropped on Wednesday. The 9ct hallmarked gold scrap prices down by 0.481% to $436.063 an ounce and 14ct hallmarked gold scrap prices dropped to $680.259 an ounce. The 18ct hallmarked gold scrap and 22ct hallmarked gold scrap prices also traded lower at $872.127 ounce and $1065.158 an ounce respectively.

According to Scrap Register Price Index, the 9ct non-hallmarked gold scrap prices dropped to $412.462 an ounce and 14ct non-hallmarked gold scrap prices fell to $643.441 an ounce on Friday. The 18ct non-hallmarked gold scrap and 22ct non-hallmarked gold scrap prices are also declined to $824.924 an ounce and $1007.507 an ounce respectively.

The most active April gold contract on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $1.90 to $1,200.70 an ounce on Wednesday. It was trading higher at $1,210.50 in electronic trading shortly after the Fed announcement, which followed the price settlement.

Gold futures had dug in just above the $1,200 mark in recent sessions, even as prices returned to late-January lows. The metal suffered from a nine-session slide that ended Friday that marked the longest streak of declines since July 2015.