Gold prices hit half-year low

Gold slumped to the lowest price in more than six months as the dollar rallied amid growing recession fears that caused losses across risk assets.

The greenback surged to the highest value in more than two years as investors retreated to the haven, putting pressure on bullion.

U.S. stocks briefly slumped more than 2% amid fears that the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes to damp inflation could cause a slowdown in the world’s largest economy.

A pronounced drop in the euro also aided the dollar’s gain, driven by bets that the European Central Bank will be slower to tighten monetary policy than the Fed.

Recession concerns in the bloc are particularly acute due to fears Russia will cut supplies of natural gas.

Gold fell 1.9% to $1,774.26 an ounce, after earlier touching the lowest price since mid-December .

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 1.1%. Silver and platinum slid, while palladium edged lower.

Ford reports sales uptick

Ford Motor Co.’s new-vehicle sales in the U.S. ticked up 1.8% year-over-year in the second quarter and 31.5% in June, the Dearborn automaker reported Tuesday.

In all, the Blue Oval sold 483,688 vehicles in the second quarter and 152,262 last month.

For the month of June, Ford saw sales increases across its truck, SUV and EV segments as it reported outperforming the industry for the month.

The automaker reported that a share gain that brought it to 12.9% of the U.S. market were driven by sales of its F-Series truck lineup, its Explorer and Expedition SUVs and expanded sales of its battery-electric vehicles.

Despite high inflation and rising interest rates, Ford said it’s seeing demand for new vehicles remain strong.

From wire reports

The automaker saw roughly 50% of retail sales come from previously placed orders, setting a new record for the company.