Bullion prices ended lower at Comex on Wednesday, 27 June 2018. Gold futures marked a third decline in a row, and another settlement at their lowest in more than six months on Wednesday, as the U.S. dollar's strength weighed on the precious metal.

August gold lost $3.80, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,256.10 an ounce, for the lowest settlement since 13 December 2017. The dollar-pegged commodity has been on a persistent downtrend lately, with bullion down 1.4% so far this week and on pace for a monthly decline of 3.7%. September silver, the most active contract, settled down 0.6% at $16.237 an ounce.

The skid for bullion has come even as intensifying jitters around global trade, and the potential for clashes between the U.S. and its partners in China and the Europe, have elevated worries that tit-for-tat import duties will devolve into an all-out trade war, disrupting international economies.

Against that backdrop, and pledges by the Federal Reserve to raise benchmark interest rates, the dollar has experienced a steady climb. As gauged by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index the buck was up 0.5% on Wednesday, on pace for a nearly 1.3% advance in June.A stronger buck can make commodities linked to the currency comparatively more expensive to buyers using other monetary units.

Economic reports at Wall Street showed that orders for durable goods fell 0.6% in May following a revised 1% decline in April, driven by a drop in new orders for trucks and cars. The trade deficit in goods narrowed 3.7% to $64.8 billion in May, which was below the $69.2 billion estimate. Separately, U.S. pending-home sales declined 0.5% to a reading of 105.9 in May.