Why gold prices declined day after hitting lifetime highs?

Day after Gold price rallied Rs 1,400 to touch a life-time high of Rs 60,100 per 10 grams on Monday, the yellow metal prices were muted in early Asian trade on Tuesday ahead of an upcoming Federal Reserve interest rate decision, while caution over a potential banking crisis kept safe haven demand strong.

Gold rallied sharply over the past week amid growing fears of a U.S. and European banking collapse spurred heavy flows into traditional safe haven assets, while bets that the Fed will lack the economic headroom to keep raising rates dented the dollar.

Focus this week is chiefly on the results of a two-day Fed meeting, with the bank widely expected to hike interest rates by 25 basis points as compared to the previous expectations of a 50 bps hike.

On Monday (March 20) the Gold price touched a lifetime high of Rs 60,100 per 10 grams in the national capital amid strong global trends, according to HDFC Securities.