GOLD PRICE DROPPED

 GOLD PRICE DROPPED

Gold Price fell more than 1% on Monday to their lowest level since late January, as a stronger dollar continued to hammer demand for greenback-priced bullion.

Spot gold fell 0.8% to $1,809 per ounce, U.S. gold futures dropped 0.6% to $1.40.

"It's not looking great for gold bugs right now... the momentum clearly favours a further downside," City Index's senior market analyst Matt Simpson said.

The U.S. dollar consolidated gains near a two-decade peak as poor Chinese economic data hurt cyclical currencies, including the British pound and the Australian dollar, making rival safe-haven gold less attractive for buyers holding other currencies.

"If sentiment fails to improve and stocks move lower, there's a decent chance it will drag gold with it as investors move to cash," Simpson said.

Asian share market stumbled after shockingly weak data from China underlined the deep damage lockdowns are doing to the world's second-largest economy.

Inflation will need to move lower for "several months" before Federal Reserve officials can safely conclude it has peaked, The U.S. central bank hiked rates for the first time in the pandemic era in March - by 25 basis points - as it sought to tighten monetary policy.

Although seen as an inflation hedge, gold is sensitive to rising U.S. short-term interest rates and bond yields, which increase the opportunity cost of holding bullion.

Spot silver eased 0.2% to $21.02 per ounce, platinum.