A stronger dollar dampens bullish sentiment in precious metals; New York gold prices fell nearly 1% and silver prices dropped over 4% on the 14th.

Source: Xinhua Finance

Xinhua Finance, New York, May 14 (Reporter Xu Jing) -- On May 14, the most actively traded June 2026 gold futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $41.7 to settle at $4,655.4 per ounce, a decrease of 0.89%.

Due to the uncertain prospects of U.S.-Iran negotiations and rising expectations of a hawkish stance from the Federal Reserve, the U.S. dollar extended its rally, and gold prices came under pressure, falling below $4,700 per ounce.

The latest U.S. inflation data shows that high energy costs continued to pressure both consumers and producers for a second consecutive month, further strengthening market expectations that interest rates may remain high for an extended period. Higher-than-expected inflation data, together with a relatively stable labor market, indicate the Federal Reserve can afford to be patient before adjusting policy settings.

In terms of news, Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins stated on the 13th that the Fed "might" need to raise interest rates to curb inflationary pressures. She expects the central bank to maintain tight policy "for some time."

Against this backdrop, the U.S. dollar index has shown overall strength recently. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, rose 0.29% on May 14 to close at 98.813 in late forex trading.

In addition, Federal Reserve Governor Steven Mullan submitted his resignation on Thursday (14th) local time, saying he will leave the Board of Governors upon or before the new chairman Kevin Walsh takes office. Mullan has consistently advocated for rate cuts and voted against all three 25-basis-point rate cut decisions approved by the Fed in 2025, as he favored larger cuts. This year, he has again opposed three decisions to keep rates unchanged, instead supporting a 25-basis-point reduction each time.

In the view of market analysts, while gold and silver prices are expected to continue to be supported by long-term fundamentals in the second quarter, the market is still awaiting clear macroeconomic catalysts.

On the same day, July delivery silver futures prices fell by 414.5 cents to close at $84.010 per ounce, a drop of 4.7%.

Editor: Zhu Henan