Gold extended its decline for the sixth straight session on Monday to hit a near seven-month trough, as a robust dollar and prospects of higher U.S. interest rates took the shine off bullion.

Spot gold was down 0.8% by 9:54 a.m. EDT (1354 GMT) at $1,835.40 per ounce, its lowest since March 10. U.S. gold futures slipped 0.7% to $1,853.00.

“There is a reckoning that interest rates are going to be higher for much longer, which has been the bearish element in the precious market. Gold prices could go below $1,800 in the near-term,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals.

“Trends in the currency markets tend to be stronger and longer lasting. The appreciation of the U.S. dollar may not end anytime soon, pressuring the gold market.”

The U.S. dollar (.DXY) rose 0.4%, making bullion less attractive to other currency holders.

Traders are pricing in a 55% chance that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates at the current range of 5.25%-5.50% this year, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

Since powering above the key $2,000-per-ounce level in early May, gold prices have fallen more than 11%, or $230, pressured by a sharp rise in benchmark U.S. Treasury yields, which makes the non-yielding gold less attractive.

The market focus now shifts to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later in the day as well as on job openings data, private hiring numbers and U.S. non-farm payrolls over the course of the week.

Spot silver slid 3.4% to a more-than-six-month low of $21.40 per ounce.

“Strength in solar PV installations and rising EV penetration globally should underpin healthy growth in silver’s industrial demand for 2023-25 and remain a tailwind for prices,” Citi analysts wrote in a note.

Platinum fell 1.3% to $893.12 and palladium dipped 2.8% to $1,210.54.

Islamabad: Federal Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti announced that any security personnel found involved in cross-border smuggling would be court-martialed on Monday.

The government has intensified its crackdown on smugglers involved in transporting commodities and dollars to Afghanistan, especially in the last few months when havoc was wreaked on the already weakening economy.

The crackdown was successful since speculation decreased and the rupee significantly appreciated versus the dollar to become the world's best-performing currency. ‘

However, analysts are concerned about another round of devaluation because they are skeptical of the long-term consequences of administrative actions.

"If I say that security forces weren't involved in [smuggling], it won't be right as the [smuggled] items are transported via trucks, not camels," Bugti said during a press conference in Islamabad.

He said that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir had told military personnel that whoever is found involved in illegal cross-border trade would face the consequences.

Karachi: Pakistan's inflation rate rose to 31.4% year-on-year in September from 27.4% in August, statistics bureau data showed on Monday, as the nation reels from high fuel and energy prices.

The country is embarking on a tricky path to economic recovery under a caretaker government after a $3 billion loan programme approved by the International Monetary Fund in July averted a sovereign debt default, but with conditions that complicated efforts to rein in inflation.

On a month-on-month basis, inflation climbed 2% in September, compared to an increase of 1.7% in August

Reforms required by the IMF bailout, including an easing of import restrictions and a demand that subsidies be removed, have already fuelled annual inflation, which rose to a record 38.0% in May.

Interest rates have also risen to their highest at 22%, and the rupee hit all-time lows in August before recovering in September to become the best performing currency following a clampdown by authorities on unregulated FX trade.

In its monthly report on Friday, the ministry of finance stated that it expected inflation to stay high in the upcoming month, averaging about 29-31% as a result of an increase in electricity tariffs and a significant rise in fuel prices.

The report added that inflation was, however, expected to ease, especially from the second half of the current fiscal year that starts on Jan. 1.

On Saturday Pakistan cut petrol and diesel prices from a record high, after two consecutive hikes. The finance ministry cited international prices of petroleum products and the improvement in the exchange rate, following the clampdown on unregulated FX trade.

Inflation has been elevated, hovering in double digits, since November 2021. The South Asian country targeted inflation at 21% for the current fiscal year, but it averaged 29% during the first quarter.

Worsening economic conditions, along with rising political tensions in the run-up to a national election scheduled for November, triggered sporadic protests in September, with many Pakistanis saying they are struggling to make ends meet.

Analysts said the inflation reading was in line with market expectations.

Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Limited, a Karachi-based investment company, said inflation appeared to have peaked for the current fiscal year and would subsequently recede.

"The higher reading is mainly due to the low base effect which was also mentioned in the last monetary policy statement. Going forward, in the next few months, we expect inflation to ease to around 26-27%," said Fahad Rauf, head of research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, a Karachi-based brokerage firm.

Rauf said higher inflation statistics should not impact monetary policy.