PRECIOUS-Hawkish Fed signals send gold to third straight weekly loss

BY Reuters | ECONOMIC | 05:02 AM EDT

* Goldman Sachs cuts December gold price target

* U.S.-Iran peace talks in Switzerland cancelled

* Silver, platinum, palladium set for weekly falls (Updates for European morning hours)

By Ashitha Shivaprasad

June 19 (Reuters) - Gold prices fell on Friday, putting the yellow metal on track for a third straight weekly decline, pressured by a firmer U.S. dollar and a hawkish Federal Reserve.

Spot gold was down 0.8% at $4,174.50 per ounce by 0834 GMT, after earlier hitting its lowest level since June 11 at $4,119.78. It has been trading below the 200-day moving average since June 5.

U.S. gold futures fell 1.2% to $4,192.80.

The U.S. dollar was headed for a weekly gain, making greenback-priced metals less affordable for holders of other currencies.

"Gold faces a distinct risk of dropping deeper into bear market territory and below the $4,000/oz mark, as the precious metal continues to navigate a challenging environment. Higher-for-longer Fed expectations are toxic for non-yielding assets while benefiting the dollar," said Nikos Tzabouras, a senior market analyst at Jefferies-owned Tradu.com.

Nine of the U.S. central bank's 19 policymakers now believe they will need to raise the Fed's policy rate this year, according to projections published on Wednesday, when the Fed's board decided to leave the rate in its current 3.50%-3.75% range.

Traders currently see a 70% chance of aFed hike by September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Gold's "trajectory will depend on developments in the U.S.-Iran negotiations, next week's U.S. inflation update and how markets price the Fed from here," said Tzabouras.

Adding to uncertainty on whether a lasting truce can be found, Switzerland said U.S. talks with Iranian negotiators on a pact to end the Middle East conflict would not take place on Friday, as Vice President JD Vance dropped plans to travel to the European country.

Goldman Sachs cut its gold price forecast to $4,900 per ounce by December, from a previous projection of $5,400. It added that its price views remain structurally constructive but tactically cautious, with near-term downside risk and medium-term upside risk.

Spot silver fell 0.8% to $65.30 per ounce, platinum eased 0.3% to $1,690.23, and palladium lost 0.2% to $1,275.29. All three metals headed for weekly losses.

(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru: Editing by Kevin Buckland)

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Lower-quality debt securities generally offer higher yields, but also involve greater risk of default or price changes due to potential changes in the credit quality of the issuer. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to loss.

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