Gold prices fall to over one-week low amid Chinese New Year celebrations
Photo: Gold hit rock bottom due to holidays in China (flickr com National)
On Tuesday, February 17, gold prices fell to their lowest level in more than a week. This was influenced by the Chinese New Year celebrations, according to Reuters.
Read also Chinese New Year: First-day rituals to attract wealth from the Fire Horse
The spot price of gold fell 1.5% to $4,918.65 per ounce. At the beginning of the session, losses exceeded 2%.
US gold futures for April delivery fell 2.2% to $4,937 per ounce.
Analysts attribute the decline to weak demand due to the holiday period.
Markets in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea remain closed for the Lunar New Year celebrations.
In addition, US markets were closed on February 16 for Presidents' Day.
The strengthening of the dollar put additional pressure on gold. The US dollar index rose 0.2% against a basket of currencies, making the precious metal, whose prices are set in dollars, less affordable for holders of other currencies.
Market fluctuations
At the end of January, the price of gold hit a record high, rising to $5,600 per ounce. However, the market then took a sharp turn downward.
In a day and a half, precious metals experienced one of the biggest crashes in a decade, with total market losses exceeding $7 trillion.
Silver fell by more than 30%, gold lost 13.6%, platinum fell by 27%, and palladium by more than 21%.
The decline occurred against the backdrop of a massive sell-off: investors were exiting their positions en masse after a period of rapid and overheated price growth.
