Gold prices for the last month have been on a decline. From a peak of 2019.60 USD, gold futures would drop 8.7 to 1844.00 USD. The continuous decline in prices comes after the Federal Reserve’s minutes maintained a hawkish bias, indicating the potential for another rate hike open as inflation pressures remain elevated. br br This aggressive monetary policy has been the most significant headwind for gold, and the precious metal will continue to struggle in this environment. Because gold is denominated in U.S. dollars, the metal is directly affected by these rate hikes. br br A silver lining outlined from the meeting could be that the central bank no longer sees the economy entering a mild recession this year; below-trend growth in 204 and 205 have been forecasted.