The Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) share price hit a fresh multi-year low of $17.02 during late morning trade today.
This means that shares in the gold miner have now hit a new bottom 3 times this week.
While there has been a slight recovery since, Newcrest shares are now trading at $17.13, down 3.38%.
Why are Newcrest shares losing their shine?
Investors have continued to sell off Newcrest shares following negative sentiment across the gold sector.
The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Industry (ASX: XGD) is the worst performer on the ASX Indices today, falling by 4.76%.
It appears investors are bracing for an impending rate hike this month from the US Federal Reserve to combat inflation.
This comes after the central bank's chair Jeremy Powell reiterated his policy stance to return inflation to 2%.
Currently, the annual inflation rate is sitting at 8.5% for the 12 months ended July 2022 after rising 9.1% previously.
Evidently, this has led the gold price to deteriorate to around US$1,700 per ounce.
When interest rates increase, investors tend to shift investments away from the yellow metal into safer asset classes.
In Australia, consumer prices have surged at the fastest annual pace over the last 21 years.
The Reserve Bank of Australia updated its statistics, indicating that inflation has risen 6.1% in the June quarter of 2022.
This is being blamed on a combination of factors such as the recovery from COVID-19, as well as surging fuel and property prices.
Next Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia meets to decide on whether they will lift the official cash rate again.
Newcrest share price summary
It has been a whirlwind year for Newcrest shareholders.
The company's shares touched a 52-week high of $28.96 in April before plunging 40% in the following months.
Year to date, the share is down 30%.
Based on today's price, Newcrest presides a market capitalisation of approximately $15.30 billion.
