<p>Gold prices slipped on Wednesday, as the dollar and US Treasury yields climbed to multi-year peaks after hawkish rhetoric by Federal Reserve officials fuelled expectations of aggressive interest rate hikes.</p>.<p>Spot gold was down 0.3 per cent at $1,624.12 per ounce, as of 0404 GMT, edging closer to a 2-1/2-year trough of $1,620.20 touched earlier this week. US gold futures was 0.3 per cent lower at $1,631.60.</p>.<p>"The backdrop has been greater rate-hike expectations, the pricing in of a more hawkish Fed, a strong US dollar and higher real interest rates on the back of that ... None of that bodes well for gold," said Ilya Spivak, a currency strategist at DailyFX, adding $1,600 is the next big inflection point for the precious metal.</p>.<p>The dollar index scaled a fresh two-decade peak, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for buyers holding other currencies. Benchmark US. 10-year Treasury yields rose to 4 per cent for the first time since 2010.</p>.<p>Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari echoed the US Fed's pledge to focus on tackling soaring inflation.</p>.<p>Evans said the US central bank will need to raise interest rates to a range between 4.50 per cent and 4.75 per cent. Though gold is seen as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainties, rate hikes have dented non-yielding bullion's appeal and pushed the dollar to multi-year highs.</p>.<p>According to a <em>Reuters </em>poll, the Fed will hike its key interest rate to a much higher peak than predicted two weeks ago. Indicative of sentiment, holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.28 per cent to 940.86 tonnes on Tuesday from 943.47 tonnes on Monday.</p>.<p>Elsewhere, spot silver hit a three-week low and was last down 1.4 per cent at $18.17 per ounce. Platinum fell 0.7 per cent to $842.52, having earlier hit its lowest level since Sept. 5. Palladium shed 1.2 per cent to $2,061.31.</p>
<p>Gold prices slipped on Wednesday, as the dollar and US Treasury yields climbed to multi-year peaks after hawkish rhetoric by Federal Reserve officials fuelled expectations of aggressive interest rate hikes.</p>.<p>Spot gold was down 0.3 per cent at $1,624.12 per ounce, as of 0404 GMT, edging closer to a 2-1/2-year trough of $1,620.20 touched earlier this week. US gold futures was 0.3 per cent lower at $1,631.60.</p>.<p>"The backdrop has been greater rate-hike expectations, the pricing in of a more hawkish Fed, a strong US dollar and higher real interest rates on the back of that ... None of that bodes well for gold," said Ilya Spivak, a currency strategist at DailyFX, adding $1,600 is the next big inflection point for the precious metal.</p>.<p>The dollar index scaled a fresh two-decade peak, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for buyers holding other currencies. Benchmark US. 10-year Treasury yields rose to 4 per cent for the first time since 2010.</p>.<p>Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari echoed the US Fed's pledge to focus on tackling soaring inflation.</p>.<p>Evans said the US central bank will need to raise interest rates to a range between 4.50 per cent and 4.75 per cent. Though gold is seen as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainties, rate hikes have dented non-yielding bullion's appeal and pushed the dollar to multi-year highs.</p>.<p>According to a <em>Reuters </em>poll, the Fed will hike its key interest rate to a much higher peak than predicted two weeks ago. Indicative of sentiment, holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.28 per cent to 940.86 tonnes on Tuesday from 943.47 tonnes on Monday.</p>.<p>Elsewhere, spot silver hit a three-week low and was last down 1.4 per cent at $18.17 per ounce. Platinum fell 0.7 per cent to $842.52, having earlier hit its lowest level since Sept. 5. Palladium shed 1.2 per cent to $2,061.31.</p>