Gold futures settled sharply lower on Tuesday, at their lowest in more than a week. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony to the Senate Banking Committee raised the possibility for a more aggressive pace of interest-rate hikes, strengthening the U.S. dollar and pressuring dollar-denominated gold prices. Powell’s testimony “proves that the Fed’s kryptonite can still sap gold’s power,” said Adrian Ash, director research at BullionVault. Gold for April delivery GCJ23 fell $34.60, or 1.9%, to settle at $1,820 an ounce on Comex. That was the lowest most-active contract finish since Feb. 24, FactSet data show.
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