Time to buy? Gold prices drop further in Dubai

Gold prices edged lower in Dubai and globally on Monday morning for a second consecutive session, as investor focus shifted to central bank meetings for clarity on their rate-hike strategies that may shed light on whether progress has been made in taming inflation.

Spot gold was down 0.34 per cent at $1,978.04 per ounce at 9.20 am UAE time.

In the UAE, the 24K was trading at Dh239.75 per gram on Monday morning, down half a dirham from its previous close. While 22K, 21K and 18K opened lower at Dh222.0, Dh214.75 and Dh184.25 per gram, respectively.

Gold is highly sensitive to rising interest rates, which raise the opportunity cost of holding non-interest-bearing bullion.

"Some firming in US Treasury yields following last Friday's flash PMI data are keeping the downward pressure on gold prices," Yeap Jun Rong, a market analyst at IG, told Reuters.

Yellow metal prices dropped by more than one per cent on Friday after the release of surveys that showed the US and eurozone business activity gathered pace in April.

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