The weakness in gold prices was fueled by two factors last week. Early in the week, gold was pressured by spillover selling in response to the previous Friday’s robust U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls report and ISM Manufacturing PMI data. These reports raised issues about the Fed’s assessment of the economy. Treasury yields rose on the news as traders priced in the possibility of at least one rate hike in 2019. This made the U.S. Dollar stronger, while driving down demand for dollar-denominated gold. Last week, April Comex gold settled at $1318.50, down $3.60 or -0.27%. Gold was further pressured as the dollar rose further on ... (full story)