By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Gold was down on Thursday morning in Asia, with rising U.S. Treasury yields turing investors away from the precious metal even as it pushes upwards from the near nine-month low hit during the previous session.
Gold futures were down 0.23% at $1,711.90 by 11:37 PM ET (4:37 AM GMT). The dollar, which usually moves inversely to gold, edged up on Thursday.
Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields gained around 1.5%, increasing the opportunity cost of holding bullion.
The U.S. economic recovery continued at a modest pace over the first weeks of 2021, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book released on Wednesday.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans also said on Wednesday that he viewed the recent rapid rise in bond yields as mostly reflecting improvements in the economy. Investors now await a speech by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell later in the day at the Wall Street Journal Jobs Summit, for guidance on future Fed monetary policy.
On the stimulus side, debate on President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion package proposed in the Senate has been slightly. The chamber is expected to begin discussions later in the day.
Meanwhile, Perth Mint said on Wednesday that gold sales jumped to their highest in at least nine years in February, and silver sales also jumped.
In other precious metals, silver rose 0.4%, while palladium eased 0.3% and platinum dropped 0.5%.