Gold falls amid expectations of Fed's decision on key rate

The price of gold fell on Monday morning, as the markets are waiting for the decision of the US Federal Reserve System (Fed) on the key rate, Report informs.

The price of August futures for gold on the New York Comex exchange fell by $4.7 (0.24%) to $1,961.9 per troy ounce. September silver futures fell 0.46% to $24.74 an ounce.

On Wednesday, the Fed will announce its decision on the key rate following the results of another two-day meeting. Markets believe that the regulator will raise the rate by 25 basis points from the current level of 5-5.25% per annum. Also on Thursday, the first estimate of US GDP for the second quarter will be published.

Gold is sensitive to the Fed's monetary policy and US macro statistics, as this affects the dollar exchange rate, on which the precious metal's quotes depend. Traditionally, monetary tightening has supported the dollar, making gold less available to buy in another currency.

Also this week, the European Central Bank (ECB) will announce its decisions on monetary policy on Thursday and the Bank of Japan on Friday. Markets expect the ECB to raise 25 basis points from the current 4%, while the Japanese regulator, as experts predict, will again keep the rate at a negative level of minus 0.1%.