As the US yields and a strong currency weigh, gold will tumble for a fourth consecutive month

Due to the strong performances of the dollar and U.S. government yields, as well as the aggressive monetary policies of leading central banks, gold prices were expected to decline for a fourth straight monthly decline on Friday.

As of 0337 GMT, spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,758.94 per ounce. American gold futures increased by 0.3% to $1,775.10.

According to OANDA Senior Analyst Jeffrey Halley, gold continues to be negatively tied to the dollar and yields rather than being a gold story in and of itself. He also noted that their recent declines helped strengthen bullion this week.

With prices up 1.9 percent thus far, the metal is poised for its highest week since the middle of May. Bullion, however, is unlikely to halt its worst stretch of monthly losses since November 2020.

The dollar has spent the majority of July trading near 20-year highs, which has negatively impacted demand among other currency holders for gold with a greenback price.

In an effort to combat rising inflation, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point on Wednesday.

Benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields increased after Thursday's three-month low. The opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing gold increases with rising rates and bond yields.

"The fact that long-term support at $1,675/80 was challenged and held despite the fact that bullion saw a sell-off below $1,700 earlier this month is important. Since then, gold has been attempting to establish a bottom "helped by recent indicators of a U.S. recession, according to Halley.

The U.S. economy unexpectedly shrank in the second quarter, increasing the likelihood of an economic downturn. This increased the appeal of gold as a safe haven and supported Thursday's bullion price increase of more than 1%.

Platinum fell 0.2 percent to $886.24 while spot silver increased by 0.3 percent to $20.04 per ounce. Both suffer loses each month.

Palladium increased 0.8 percent to $2,095.13, posting its greatest monthly gain since January of approximately 8.2 percent.