The bears remain active in gold. The metal slipped to a five-week low following the rate hike comments from the Federal Reserve. Moreover, the ongoing strong rebound in the U.S. dollar has also caused jitters in yellow metal investors.

Gold tumbles on rate hike expectations

Resultantly, Gold for June delivery on the Comex division fell 0.42% to $1,218.40 during the late Asian afternoon. The commodity recovered some of the early day losses as it recovered from the session low of $1,206.20.

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The pressure on the SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSEARCA:GLD) built up after the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams reiterated that rate hikes could be implemented if the U.S. economy continues its current momentum at a steady pace. Such comments echo similar sentiments shared by other Fed officials last week. This started a rally in the greenback, which makes dollar-denominated gold more expensive, leading to its diminished demand.

Seabridge cuts losses

Meanwhile, renowned gold miner, Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX), released an update relating to cyanide leaks at Veladero mine. It said that the company had effectively contained three leaks during the period between 2011 and 2012 due to its control system and had informed he matter to the concerned authorities. The company has been slapped with a fine of $9.8 million in relation to cyanide spill last September.

Seabridge Gold, Inc. (USA) (NYSE:SA) received a positive response from investors after the miner successfully trimmed its losses in the fourth quarter. The company’s loss came in at $1.8 million in the fourth quarter, i.e., $0.04 per share. The company has been able to reduce its losses to $7.1 million or $0.14 per share as at the end of the financial year 2015.

Gold Fields Limited (ADR) (NYSE:GFI) received a downward rating outlook by Goldman Sachs. The research firm has degraded the stock to ‘Sell’ from ‘Neutral’.