Gold and silver tumble as rate-hike fears hit precious metals

Gold prices held steady on Thursday, while a firmer dollar and fading hopes for near-term interest rate cuts due to higher oil prices continued to weigh. Hans-peter Merten | The Image Bank | Getty Images Gold and silver tumbled on Tuesday, as a global sell-off in tech stocks stoked by fears of higher interest rates spilled over into metals. Gold futures fell 1.5% on Tuesday to $4,142 an ounce, while silver futures tumbled over 5% to $61.80 an ounce, before paring some losses to settle around $62.25. Since the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war on Feb. 28, gold's reputation as a safe-haven asset in times of turmoil has come under pressure as some of the drivers behind its ascendance have been called into question. An unexpectedly hawkish Fed meeting chaired by Kevin Warsh last week boosted expectations for a year-end interest rate ⁠hike, further pressuring gold prices, as the prospect of higher interest rates tend to weigh ‌on the non-yielding precious metal. Meanwhile, Wall Street is also changing its tune on gold, after several banks downgraded their price forecasts on the metal following Warsh's first meeting. Bank of America's previous $6,000 target for an ounce of gold looks unlikely now, because the inflation backdrop remains "uncomfortable," likely driving tighter monetary policy, its commodity strategist Michael Widmer wrote on Friday. …