Gold Falls 0.45% to $4,033.20 as Fed Rate-Hike Bets, Firm Dollar Outweigh Safe-Haven Demand

Gold prices extended losses Thursday, with front-month Comex gold for December delivery down $18.40, or 0.45%, at $4,033.20 per troy ounce, as traders priced a roughly 80% probability of a December rate hike despite the Federal Reserve holding rates steady a day earlier. Comex December silver slid $1.276, or 2.38%, to $52.390 an ounce. The Federal Open Market Committee kept the federal funds target range at 3.75% to 4.00% on Wednesday, in line with expectations, after a 25-basis-point hike in September. CME Group's FedWatch Tool shows a 79.60% chance of a quarter-point increase at the December 8-9 meeting. Analysts cited a firm U.S. dollar and the prospect of further Fed tightening as headwinds for bullion, with oil-linked inflation seen pushing central banks toward tighter policy. The dollar index traded at 101.98, down 0.21, while December WTI crude fell $1.24, or 1.21%, to $101.54 a barrel.