By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Gold was up on Wednesday morning in Asia as softer U.S. Treasury yields increased demand for the safe-haven yellow metal.
Gold futures were up 0.22% to $1,782.40 by 12:26 AM ET (4:26 AM GMT). The dollar, which normally moves inversely to gold, fell to a near-seven-week low, while U.S Treasury yields fell below 1.6%.
"Providing that U.S. 10-year yields remain softer, gold appears to be gathering strength for a test of the 100-day moving average at $1,802 an ounce in the days ahead," OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley told Reuters.
Meanwhile, investors are waiting for policy decisions from central banks globally, including the European Central Bank on Thursday and the U.S. Federal Reserve in the following week. Investors expect the Fed and other central banks to “remain dovish” due to the ever-rising numbers of COVID-19 cases, Phillip Futures senior commodities manager Avtar Sandu to Reuters.
The number of COVID-19 cases globally passed the 142.5-million mark as of Apr. 21, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
In other precious metals, silver slipped 0.3% and platinum fell 0.4%, while palladium rose 0.6%.