Gold Drops 4% in Worst Week Since June, Loses $4,000 Level

Spot gold fell 0.6% to $3,998.35 per ounce by 15:20 GMT on Friday, after touching $3,975.23, in its first drop below the $4,000 level since mid-July, according to a Reuters report cited by Malaysia's "The Star" newspaper.

The precious metal logged a 4% decline over the week, its worst weekly performance since June, while December gold futures fell 1.3% at settlement to $4,007.90 per ounce.

Reuters attributed the pressure on gold to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia that pushed Brent crude to a more than five-month high, strong U.S. inflation data, and margin calls in tech stocks that forced traders to sell the metal to cover their positions.

The market is pricing in a 92% probability that U.S. interest rates will remain unchanged at the October 27-28 meeting, and a 78% probability of a rate hike in December, reducing the appeal of non-yielding gold.

What do these terms mean?

Spot gold: The buying and selling price of gold for immediate delivery, serving as a global benchmark for the metal's prices.

Futures contracts: An agreement to buy or sell a quantity of gold at a specified price today with delivery at a later date.

Margin call: A broker's demand for a trader to deposit additional funds when the value of their position declines, failing which they are forced to sell to cover the loss.

Brent crude: One of the world's major oil pricing benchmarks, used as a reference for crude oil prices in international markets.