Thursday is proving to be a rough day for S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold shares as many of the market's favourites hit new 52-week lows. It comes after the price of the yellow metal slipped overnight.
Here's how these ASX 200 gold shares were trading at their lowest points today:
- Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM)
- Fell around 1% to a new multi-year low of $19.41
- Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)
- Tumbled 1.9% to a new four-year low of $6.78
- Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)
- Slumped around 2.5% to a near-five year low of $2.35
For context, the ASX 200 is in the green on Thursday. It's currently up 0.35%. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) has lifted 1.98%.
So, what exactly is dragging on these ASX 200 gold shares? Let's take a look.
ASX 200 gold shares suffer as metal's price plunges
The price of gold plummeted more than 2% overnight to reach a new nine-month low.
Gold futures slipped 2.1% to US$1,763.90 an ounce in Wednesday's session overseas, according to CommSec. Spot gold was also lower, trading at US$1765.87 an ounce when the US market closed.
It came as the US dollar strengthened while the US Federal Reserve appeared to become more hawkish, reports Reuters.
A rising US dollar makes buying gold more expensive for those trading in other currencies. Meanwhile, expectations of upcoming rate hikes likely damages demand for the metal, which yields no interest.
