Gold slips as firmer dollar offsets easing US bond yields

Gold prices slipped on Monday as an uptick in the dollar dented the metal's appeal, although lower US bond yields and prospects of a prolonged accommodative interest rate environment limited losses.

Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,884.79 per ounce as of 0511 GMT, after rising more than 1% in the previous session, as US May non-farm payrolls fell short of expectations.

US gold futures eased 0.2% to $1,888.10 per ounce.

"We are seeing some long covering in Asia today, with risk hedges being unwound after an uneventful news weekend, helped by a slightly stronger US dollar and with Bitcoin rallying," said Jeffrey Halley, OANDA senior market analyst.

"Although gold has corrected in recent sessions, the bullish fundamentals remain in place. Only a sharp steepening of the US yield curve is likely to change that."

The dollar index held firmer at 90.141 against its rivals, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Meanwhile, a weaker-than-expected US monthly jobs report calmed investor fears about the Federal Reserve reining in monetary stimulus soon.

Lower US interest rates put pressure on the dollar and bond yields, increasing the appeal of non-yielding bullion.

The benchmark 10-year yield slipped below 1.6% and was hovering near a one-week low.

Indicative of sentiment, speculators raised their net-long positions in COMEX gold in the week ended June 1.

Spot gold may retreat into a range of $1,864 to $1,877 per ounce, as it failed to break a resistance at $1,898, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

Democrats will start preparing an infrastructure bill later this week for a vote in the US House of Representatives, with or without Republican support, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told CNN.

Silver dipped 0.7% to $27.58 per ounce, palladium fell 0.1% to $2,841.20, while platinum rose 0.2% to $1,164.37.