On June 24th, COMEX gold continued its downward trend, briefly falling below the 4,000-point level during the session, and closed at $4,016.4 per ounce, marking a decline of 3.21%. Domestically, the SHFE gold night session opened lower and moved within a narrow range, closing at 875.16 yuan per gram, down 2.45%.
Key Drivers of the Dollar's Strength
On Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in an interview on "Squawk Box," indicated that negotiations with Iran have touched on allowing Iran to price its oil and gas exports in US dollars. She also noted that Venezuela is moving back towards the dollar system, and Russia is expected to return to dollar-based settlements after the conclusion of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. She characterized these developments as part of a broader reshaping of the dollar's global dominance. Concurrently, she forecasted that US GDP growth could return to 3% within the year, maintaining that her "3-3-3" economic goals remain achievable. Coupled with the Federal Reserve's neutral-to-hawkish stance from the previous week, the US Dollar Index continued its ascent, breaking above 101.5, which exerted downward pressure on precious metals prices.
Geopolitical Factors and Oil Price Pressure
On the geopolitical front, former President Donald Trump warned oil companies that prices must fall more rapidly or face investigation by the Department of Justice. US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, speaking at the Reuters Global Energy Forum in New York, stated that approximately 20 million barrels of crude oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, indicating that oil flows have normalized. With the geopolitical risk premium being further squeezed out, gold prices may continue to weaken. Market attention is now focused on tonight's US PCE and GDP data for further direction.
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