Oct 23 (Reuters) - Gold fell to a three-month low on Friday and was headed for its steepest weekly decline in over four months as higher energy prices fueled inflation concerns and reinforced US rate hike expectations ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.
Spot gold fell 0.6% to $3,998.35 an ounce by 11:20 a.m. EDT (1520 GMT), slipping below the $4,000 mark for the first time since mid-July and touching a session low of $3,975.23.
Bullion has fallen 4% this week, putting it on track for its worst week since June.
US gold futures for December delivery settled 1.3% lower at $4,007.90 per ounce.
Brent crude touched a more than five-month high, after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked concern over further disruption to energy supplies.
"Heightened inflation concerns suggest that major central banks of the world won't be able to ease monetary policies as quickly as they want to. All that's working against the gold and silver market bulls at present," said Jim Wyckoff, a market analyst at American Gold Exchange.
The selloff in technology stocks has also led to margin calls for equity traders and investors, prompting them to sell gold and silver assets, Wyckoff said.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq touched their lowest in five weeks on Friday as caution prevailed after a sharp selloff in AI-linked stocks.
Meanwhile, traders largely expect the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged at its October 27-28 meeting, although stronger-than-expected US consumer and producer inflation data released last week bolstered the case for tighter monetary policy later this year.
They see a 92% chance of the Fed leaving rates unchanged next week and a 78% probability of a December hike, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. FEDWATCH
The US Personal Consumption Expenditures report, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, on October 29 could offer further insight.
Elsewhere, gold buying picked up in India this week as lower prices during the major Dussehra festival boosted purchases and lifted premiums, while physical demand in top consumer China was steady even as cautious consumers continued to curb jewellery spending. [GOL/AS]
Among other metals, spot silver slid 1% to $53.97 per ounce, and palladium dropped 0.5% to $1,048.31, hitting their lowest since November 2025 and June 2025 respectively. Spot platinum fell 0.9% to $1,555.84 per ounce, its lowest since July.
All three metals were headed for weekly declines.
Reporting by Noel John and Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das and Leroy Leo
