Gold dips as yields perk up, dollar strengthens

Gold fell and was heading for a weekly dip on Friday as a stronger dollar, firmer yields and equity markets chipped away at its appeal.

Spot gold fell 0.2pc to $1,802.78 per ounce by 12:11 pm EDT (1611 GMT). U.S. gold futures dipped 0.2pc to$1,802.50.

Bullion has shed 0.7pc this week after briefly moving towards last week's one-month peak, as fears over rising Delta variant COVID-19 cases have eased, prompting investors to move out of the safe-haven asset as risk appetite returned.

"The gold market is seeking out a fresh fundamental driver and there really isn't one," said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst with Kitco Metals, noting weaker real yields and a jump in COVID-19 cases were not enough to move prices higher.

Spot gold may retest resistance at $1,810

"Technical traders are taking over because of the lack of fundamentals and gold's near-term technical posture has turned negative, inviting some traders to short the market."

Heaping pressure on the metal, was a stronger dollar index which held close to a 3-1/2-month peak and firmer benchmark Treasury yields.

Higher yields tend to weigh on gold which pays no interest as it translates into an increased opportunity cost of holding the metal.

Market focus now turns to next week's U.S. Federal Reserve meeting after the European Central Bank on Thursday pledged to keep interest rates at record lows for some time.

Gold slips off one-month peak

"Gold prices have found good support from the physical market on the downside, but have struggled to gain momentum as speculative positioning remains light," said Suki Cooper, analyst at Standard Chartered.

Holdings in New York's SPDR Gold Trust, the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF), were at their lowest in over two months on Thursday.

Silver fell 0.9pc to $25.21 per ounce, and was set for a third consecutive weekly fall.

Platinum slipped 3pc to $1,059.54, and palladium shed 1.5pc to $2,678.26.