Gold Declines As Oil And Bond Yields Rise

(RTTNews) - Gold prices fell toward $4,100 an ounce on Wednesday as oil prices climbed and yields rebounded on fears Iran is stepping up attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

Spot gold fell 1.1 percent to $4,119.97 an ounce, with inflationary risks and rate hike concerns in focus. U.S. gold futures were down 1 percent at $4,145.47 an ounce.

Brent crude futures rose about 1 percent toward $102 a barrel after U.K. Maritime Trade Operations said there had been nine attacks so far this month, half the number it reported for all of September in the waterway and Persian Gulf combined.

In a statement on the social media platform X, Yemen's Houthi group claimed that it carried out a series of drone and ballistic missile attacks targeting airports and military installations in Saudi Arabia.

Also, the Houthis denied being pushed back by government forces after Yemen's military said it had removed the pro-Iran group from areas around the Bab al-Mandab strait - a Red Sea chokepoint - and the port city of Mocha.

Meanwhile, German, French and Italian bond yields jumped as investors refocused on France's deepening fiscal crisis.

The U.S. dollar strengthened, the 10-year U.S. note yield climbed to 5.307 percent and the 30-year bond yield rose to 5.69 percent as traders awaited the release of the Fed's September meeting minutes as well as speeches by Fed officials for additional clues on the path forward.

The Fed's September meeting minutes may shed additional light on Fed officials' thinking ahead of the central bank's next interest rate decision later this month.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicates an 80.6 percent chance the Fed will leave rates unchanged and just a 19.4 percent chance of another quarter point rate hike.