Gold inches down as stronger dollar offsets lower US bond yields

Bengaluru — Gold prices edged lower on Monday as an uptick in the dollar dented the metal’s appeal, though lower US bond yields and prospects of a prolonged accommodative interest rate environment limited losses.

Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,886.76 per ounce at 5.08am, after rising more than 1% in the previous session, as US May non-farm payrolls fell short of expectations.

US gold futures eased 0.1% to $1,889.60 per ounce.

“We are seeing some long covering in Asia today, with risk hedges being unwound after an uneventful news weekend, helped by a slightly stronger US dollar and with bitcoin rallying,” said Jeffrey Halley, Oanda senior market analyst.

“Though gold has corrected in recent sessions, the bullish fundamentals remain in place. Only a sharp steepening of the US yield curve is likely to change that.”

The dollar index rose 0.1% against its rivals, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.

A weaker-than-expected US monthly jobs report calmed investor fears about the tightening of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve.

Lower US interest rates put pressure on the dollar and bond yields, increasing the appeal of non-yielding bullion.

The benchmark 10-year yield slipped below 1.6% and was hovering near a one-week low.

Indicative of sentiment, holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.1% to 1,043.16 tonnes on Friday.

Speculators raised their net-long positions in Comex gold in the week ended June 1.

Democrats will start the process on Wednesday of preparing an infrastructure bill for a vote in the US House of Representatives, with or without Republican support, US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm told CNN.

Elsewhere, silver dipped 0.7% to $27.58 per ounce, palladium fell 0.3% to $2,835.19, while platinum rose 0.2% to $1,164.72.

Reuters