Reuters

Gold prices fell for third day on Thursday, weighed down by a stronger dollar while investors awaited the second session of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee later in the global day.

U.S. economic growth slowed slightly more than initially thought in the fourth quarter as the strongest pace of consumer spending in three years drew in imports and depleted inventories.

World stocks were set to snap a record 15-month long winning streak on Wednesday, tumbling another quarter percent after new Fed boss Jerome Powell’s comments suggested the possibility of four U.S. interest rate rises this year rather than three.

Asian shares extended losses on Wednesday as weak Chinese Japanese manufacturing data revived worries about global growth amid anxiety over faster rate rises in the United States.

The dollar hit a three-week peak on Tuesday after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks before U.S. lawmakers suggested a willingness to adopt a more hawkish stance if needed

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, pledging to “strike a balance” between the risk of an overheating economy and the need to keep growth on track, told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that the central bank would stick with gradual interest rate increases despite the added stimulus of tax cuts and government spending.

New orders for U.S.-made capital goods fell for a second straight month in January and shipments barely rose, pointing to a slowdown in business spending on equipment after robust growth in 2017.

Oil edged lower on Tuesday ahead of weekly data that is forecast to show a rise in U.S. crude inventories, although investor faith in OPEC’s ability to curtail production helped stem a larger price slide.

Japan’s steel industry wants the country to be excluded from any U.S. import curbs as steel from Japan poses no threat to the U.S. national security, the head of the steel federation said on Tuesday.

The United States will overtake Russia as the world’s biggest oil producer by 2019 at the latest, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday, as the country’s shale oil boom continues to upend global markets.