Gold firms on softer dollar, yields; all eyes on US data

Gold gained on Thursday as a weaker dollar and Treasury yields bolstered bullion's appeal, ahead of US weekly jobless claims and retail sales data that will shed light on the pace of recovery in the world's largest economy.

Spot gold rose 0.5% to $1,744.30 per ounce by 1153 GMT. US gold futures gained 0.5% to $1,745.

"Gold's holding up fairly well today... we've seen the dollar weaken and US 10 year Treasury yields are softer as well," said CMC Markets UK's chief market analyst Michael Hewson.

"The big question at the moment is can we take out the highs that we saw last week, near the 50-day moving average which currently is capping the current rebound."

Making gold affordable for holders of other currencies, the dollar slumped to a four-week low, while softer benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields further boosted bullion's appeal.

Focus is now on US weekly jobless claims and March retail sales data due at 1230 GMT.

"A decent jobless claims number or a decent retail sales number could actually knock gold back down again... these numbers could be very important in the context of where gold goes to next," Hewson said.

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday the central bank would cut its monthly bond purchases before committing to an interest rate hike, clarifying the sequence of monetary policy adjustments are still months if not years in the future.

"However, gold is unable to make any further significant and sustainable gains due to a lack of support from financial investors. There is still no sign of any trend reversal in gold ETFs," Commerzbank analysts said in a note.

Silver gained 0.1% to $25.44 and palladium climbed 2% at $2,730.41, having earlier hit its highest since March 18 at $2,737.46. Platinum rose 1.2% to $1,184.75.