<div id="readability-page-1" class="page"><div> <h2> HOLIDAY LULL: With markets in Taiwan, China, HK, Singapore, South Korea and the US closed, thin liquidity and a surging dollar dragged bullion to a weekly low </h2> Gold dropped more than 2 percent yesterday, as holidays in major markets hit liquidity, while a stronger US dollar and easing geopolitical tensions added to the pressure.Spot gold dropped 1.5 percent to US$4,917.90 per ounce by 8am GMT, after hitting US$4,862 per ounce, its lowest level in more than a week. US gold futures for April delivery lost 2.2 percent to US$4,936.6 per ounce.“Thin liquidity with the holidays in the last 24 hours, especially in China and Asia, but also obviously in the United States too, means we just lacked a bid in the market,” Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said.Markets in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. US markets were shut on Monday for Presidents’ Day.Stocks in Tokyo closed down 0.4 percent, Sydney added 0.2 percent and Bangkok rose 0.9 percent. Mumbai was also in the green, while Wellington and Manila slipped. The US dollar index rose 0.3 percent against a basket of currencies, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for holders of other currencies. The minutes of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting last month, due today, could give investors further clues about the US Federal Reserve’s future monetary policy path.The market currently expects the first of three interest rate cuts for the year to be in June, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool.“Now it’s going to be interesting to see what these FOMC minutes say in the sense that the markets want many more rate cuts now than what the Fed said that it would do,” Tastylive financial network’s global macro head Ilya Spivak said.Non-yielding bullion tends to do well in low-interest-rate environments. On the geopolitical front, US President Donald Trump said on Monday he was to be “indirectly” involved in US-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva yesterday, while Ukrainian and Russian representatives are to meet there this week for US-mediated peace discussions.“The immediate range top [for gold] is somewhere around US$5,120, but the next real kind of objective here is back to the highs at US$5,600 or so, and then of course, we march to record highs,” Spivak said.Spot silver fell 2 percent to US$75.05 per ounce, after dropping over 5 percent earlier.Spot platinum dropped 1.5 percent to US$2,010.72 per ounce, while palladium lost 1.9 percent to US$1,692.Elsewhere, West Texas Intermediate crude oil cooled after rising more than one percent to near US$64 per barrel, while Brent oil eased slightly to just under US$69. </div></div>

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The strong US dollar and holiday-related thin trading have led to a significant drop in gold demand, with spot gold falling 1.5% to $4,917.90 per ounce. Major markets in Asia and the US were closed, contributing to low liquidity. Analysts suggest that the upcoming FOMC minutes could influence future interest rate cuts, which typically benefit gold prices. Other precious metals also saw declines, while crude oil prices stabilized after recent gains.

Strong dollar hits gold demand in thin trading