Gold stocks fall as the commodity nears worst weekly run since Feb

The news: Gold stocks lowered on the ASX as the commodity approached its first back-to-back weekly loss in over two months due to persistent inflation continuing to put interest rate cuts on hold.

The numbers: Gold miners Evolution Mining (-4.3%), Bellevue Gold (-2.4%), Ramelius Resources (-2.4%), Regis Resources (-2.2%) and Capricorn Metals (-2%) made up half of the worst 10 performing ASX 200 stocks by 12:30pm AEST.

Bullion remained steady above USD2,300 ($3,497) an ounce, Bloomberg reported.

The context: Earlier this week, US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said it was likely that rate cuts would take longer than previously expected and that policymakers needed more evidence that price gains are cooling before reducing borrowing costs.

Investors typically buy up gold ahead of rate cuts, as non-yielding assets like gold and silver tend to perform well in lower-rate environments.