Gold futures declined for a second straight session on Wednesday to settle at their lowest in seven weeks. “Although the uncertainty with respect to the [U.S.] debt ceiling talks should be a positive for gold, we think this week’s stronger dollar and rising U.S. interest rates are more than compensating, leading to the weaker tone” for the precious metal, said Edward Meir, metals analyst at Marex. Gold for June delivery GCM23 settled at $1,984.90 an ounce on Comex, down $8.10, or 0.4% for the session. That was the lowest most-active contract finish since March 29, FactSet data show.

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