NEW YORK: Gold fell 1% in choppy trading on Wednesday, en route to snap a five-session-long winning streak, after April’s jump in US consumer prices buoyed the dollar and US Treasury yields, reducing appetite for non-yielding bullion.
Spot gold fell 0.8% to $1,822.91 per ounce by 1:51 p.m. EDT (1751 GMT) after falling up to 1% earlier in the session.
US gold futures settled down 0.7% at $1,822.80.
“People trading gold and silver are a little concerned that maybe this inflation is getting a little too quick, and the Fed did say they have tools to tamp it down. ... Traders are concerned about what those tools may be,” said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
“For this week, you’re going to see caution in the gold and silver markets.”
Benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields jumped on the stronger data.
While gold is viewed as a hedge against higher inflation that could follow stimulus measures, higher Treasury yields have weighed on gold, which is down over 4% for the year so far.
The dollar index was up 0.6%, making gold expensive for holders of other currencies.
US Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida on Wednesday said it’s “not yet” time to pull back on support for the economy, though he also added the central bank would not hesitate to use tools if it sees risk of persistent upward drift in inflation expectations.
“You’re still going to see the Fed remain stubbornly accommodative here, and that should provide some underlying support (to gold),” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said.
“What you’re going to see is that the market is going to slowly transition to viewing gold as an inflation hedge.”
Elsewhere, palladium fell as much as 3% and was last down 2.4% at $2,867.06 per ounce, while platinum dipped 1.3% to $1,218.83.
Silver fell 1.6% to $27.17 per ounce.
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