Gold prices hit their lowest in nearly six years on Wednesday as the dollar rose and investors braced for the first U.S. interest rate rise in nearly a decade next month.
The other precious metals followed gold down, with silver dropping to a fresh 2-1/2-month low and platinum tapping a seven-year low.
Spot gold was down 0.20 per cent at $1,068.6 an ounce at 09.23 a.m. after falling to $1,064.95 earlier in the day, the lowest since February 2010. In India, spot gold prices hovered around Rs 25,100 per 10 gram on Wednesday.
Gold price on Tuesday plunged by Rs 450 to trade at almost four-month low of Rs 25,700 per 10 grams at the bullion market, tracking a weak global trend amid subdued demand from jewellers and retailers.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery were down 0.12 per cent at $1,067.3.
Bullion prices have fallen for 15 out of 16 sessions under pressure from expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve is set to raise interest rates next month.
Data on Tuesday showing U.S. consumer prices increased in October further fuelled those expectations.
The dollar sat near a 7-month high against a basket of currencies as the euro slid on expectations for more monetary easing by the European Central Bank in December.
"We saw a pop in the last few days, but the knee jerk reaction didn't really last. The overriding factor has been the rising dollar and the expectation of Fed hiking rates in December," said Victor Thianpiriya, analyst at ANZ.
However, heightened security concerns in Europe after Friday night's attacks in Paris in which 129 people were killed continue to underpin gold's safe-have appeal.
German authorities have called off a soccer game which Chancellor Angela Merkel was due to attend, citing threats of bombing, while two Air France flights to Paris from the United States have been diverted.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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