US MIDDAY: Gold slips as dollar rally eclipses stagflation worries

NEW YORK: Gold prices edged lower on Monday, weighed by a rallying dollar on bets the US Federal Reserve would not put off stimulus tapering, although stagflation expectations limited losses in inflation-hedge bullion.

Spot gold was 0.1% lower at $1,754.54 per ounce by 2:08 p.m. EDT (1808 GMT), while US gold futures settled down 0.1% at $1,755.7.

"The dollar is the main factor," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at brokerage OANDA.

While the dollar's dominance could last until the Fed announces tapering, "the downside pressure on gold is starting to near its end, and we are approaching a peak where gold can finally stabilize and ultimately regain its historically longer bullish trend," Moya added.

The dollar gained 0.3%, hurting gold's appeal for those holding other currencies.

Bullion was trading near a high since Sept. 22, reached on Friday.

Support for gold "could be coming from some people thinking we have some stagflation at the moment, which is when gold is at its best, as inflation goes higher," said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago.

Jitters over high inflation combined by stalling economic growth stunted global shares, amid rallying oil prices.

Spot silver fell 0.3% to $22.60 per ounce.

Palladium advanced 1.6% to $2,110.93 per ounce, with analysts attributing the bounce to short-covering after recent declines, while platinum was last down 1.8%, to $1,008.17, after hitting a 2-month peak earlier.

Palladium is seeing a technical rebound after prices hit support around $1,870, said ANZ analyst Soni Kumari.

"Fundamentals haven't changed much with auto sector continuing to face challenges due to micro-chip shortage. Until we see auto production recovering meaningfully, which will depend on availability of semiconductors, we expect PGMs (platinum group metals) to remain volatile," Kumari added. Platinum and palladium are used mainly in vehicle engines to reduce emissions.