Gold rises to one-week high after US treasury yields slip

Bengaluru — Gold prices rose to a more than one-week peak on Thursday, after weaker-than-expected US inflation data halted an advance in treasury yields and the dollar.

Spot gold was up 0.2% to $1,729.24/oz by 2.53am GMT, after hitting its highest level since March 3 at $1,732.05 earlier in the session. US gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,729.10.

“We got a little bit of a shot in the arm for gold, when the CPI [consumer price index] number came in a little bit softer … the dollar surge abated a little bit and nominal yields stopped climbing, that’s been a positive driver for gold,” said IG Market analyst Kyle Rodda.

Benchmark US treasury yields remained subdued, while the dollar nursed losses after the US CPI data on Wednesday did not change expectations that inflation will push higher and exceed the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

A recent surge in yields has threatened gold’s status as a hedge against inflation, since they translate into higher opportunity cost of holding bullion, which pays no return. Investors are now awaiting a European Central Bank policy meeting later in the day to see if policymakers will take any action to rein in rising yields. A $1.9-trillion Covid-19 relief bill was finally approved on Wednesday and is expected to supercharge the US economic recovery.

“Gold’s trend is still to the downside. We continue to see real yields pushing higher, and that’s really driven by the optimism around economic recovery, as well as expectations that at some point … central banks will have to unwind policy support,” Rodda cautioned.

Among other precious metals, silver rose 0.1% to $26.19/oz. Palladium was down 0.4% to $2,297.40, while platinum gained 0.4% to $1,207.92.

Reuters

Source: businesslive.co.za