Gold prices flat as lower US bond yields offset firmer dollar

Gold prices were flat on Tuesday, as a slide in US Treasury yields offset a firmer dollar amid investor concerns over a relentless surge of the Delta coronavirus variant that could threaten the outlook for global economic recovery.

FUNDAMENTALS

• Spot gold was steady at $1,813.15 per ounce, as of 0057 GMT, after falling to a one-week low of $1,794.06 in the previous session.

• US gold futures edged up 0.3% at $1,813.80.

Spot gold may fall towards $1,789

• Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were pinned near five-month lows. Lower bond yields reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing gold.

• But, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies, the dollar held near a 3-1/2-month peak against its rivals.

• Stocks on Wall Street fell as much as 2% on Monday, with the Dow posting its worst day in nine months, as a rise in worldwide coronavirus cases and increasing US deaths drove investors out of risky assets.

  • Rising coronavirus cases across the United States and abroad fuelled fears of a pandemic resurgence as the highly contagious Delta variant appeared to be taking hold.

  • Gold is often used as a safe store of value during times of political and financial uncertainty.

• Japan's core consumer prices rose 0.2% in June from a year earlier to mark the fastest annual pace in over a year, data showed on Tuesday, a sign the impact of global commodity inflation was gradually broadening.

• US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday he would set a procedural vote on a bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill for Wednesday, increasing pressure on negotiators as they struggled with ways to pay for the cost of the measure.

• Silver eased 0.1% to $25.18 per ounce, palladium was steady at $2,597.23, and platinum rose 0.3% to $1,077.98.