Gold Futures Close Softer Ahead Of Fed Meeting

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Bernama) -- Gold futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended lower on Monday as traders appeared to be cautious ahead that the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) may take a more hawkish stance at its meeting this week. 

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said that with oil prices recently spiking and the geopolitical backdrop remaining uncertain, investors are questioning whether no interest rate cuts are pencilled in for the year.

“If the Fed merely removes its easing bias and signals that interest rates will stay higher for longer, real yields could firm and the US dollar could catch a bid.

“In that environment, gold often struggles in the short term because the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding asset rises,” he told Bernama.

At the close, the spot-month March 2026 contract eased to US$5,000.10 per troy ounce from US$5,103.8 last Friday, April 2026 fell to US$5,018.90 per troy ounce from US$5,122.60 at the end of last week, and May 2026 slid to US$5,038.20 per troy ounce from US$5,141.80 previously.

The June, August and September 2026 contracts also settled lower at US$5,072.10 per troy ounce compared with US$5,175.70 last Friday.

Trading volume rose to 15 lots from eight lots on Friday, while open interest widened to 89 contracts from 78 contracts previously.

Physical gold was fixed at US$5,044.60 per troy ounce at the London Bullion Market Association afternoon fix on March 13, 2026.

-- BERNAMA