NEW DELHI: Gold futures fell marginally on Friday morning, as the dollar stayed firm amid expectations of a 75-basis-points Fed rate hike in July.

Gold August futures fell Rs 44 or 0.09 per cent to Rs 50,550 per 10 grams on

in early trade. Silver July futures were trading flat at Rs 59,505.00, up Re 1.

In his second day of testimony to the US Congress, the U.S. Federal Reserve CHair Jerome Powell on Thursday said his central bank ‘s commitment to rein in 40-year-high inflation is ‘unconditional’.

The dollar index, which compares the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, stayed firm at 104.29 level. A strong dollar makes greenback-priced gold more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.

Analysts noted that stubborn and sticky inflation has forced central banks across the globe to hike rates aggressively and unwind the easy monetary policy to reverse the excess liquidity in the system. The hike in the US interest rates by the FOMC has been much faster and higher than expected, Emkay Global said in a note on Thursday. “The Fed has turned more aggressive based on persistently high inflation numbers. This has rendered strength to the US Dollar, and the currency yields are rising too with hike in policy rates,” it said.

In the overseas market, gold prices were largely flat but on course for their second straight weekly decline, Reuters reported.

Spot gold was last up 0.1 per cent to $1,824.72 per ounce, after hitting a one-week low of $1,820.99 earlier in the session. US gold futures fell 0.2 per cent to $1,825.90.

SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.81 per cent to 1,063.07 tonnes on Thursday from 1,071.77 tonnes a day earlier.

Spot silver firmed 0.4 per cent to $21.02 per ounce, and platinum rose 0.9 per cent to $915.11, but both were set for weekly losses.

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