NEW YORK: Gold prices were little changed on Wednesday, with a subdued dollar offsetting firmer US Treasury yields, as investors squared positions in the run-up to US consumer prices data this week.
Spot gold was nearly flat at $1,783.50 per ounce by 10:11 a.m. ET (1511 GMT), retreating from the session’s peak of$1,792.90.
US gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,783.00.
“The only pressure that gold is getting is rising Treasury yields, but the upside on yields is fairly limited,” said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago.
Benchmark US Treasury yields climbed, dimming gold’s appeal. On the other hand, the dollar index fell, making bullion cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Gold was anchored at $1,780-$1,800 an ounce, awaiting cues from the US Federal Reserve and US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, Streible added.
The CPI report due on Friday could influence the timeline of the Fed tapering its economic support before its next policy meeting on Dec. 14-15.
With the narrative shifting back to central banks’ tightening policy, which was likely to boost the US dollar, any upside in gold is likely to be limited, Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades, said.
Reduced stimulus and interest rate hikes tend to push government bond yields higher, raising the opportunity cost of holding gold, which bears no interest.
“Gold at the moment is not an arrow, it is a feather, and the feather is literally book squaring; it’s people selling a bit here and buying a bit there and in thin markets you can get big moves,” independent analyst Ross Norman said.
Spot silver shed 0.2% to $22.42 per ounce, platinum gained 0.2% to $935.58 per ounce and palladium dipped 0.1% to $1,850.67.
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