Gold fragile on lofty US dollar and yields; palladium at 5-year low

Spot gold eased 0.1pc to $1,820.70 per ounce by 0332 GMT

(Reuters) - Gold prices headed back towards seven-month lows on Wednesday as an ascending dollar and bond yields after strong U.S. jobs data kept markets expectant of further monetary policy tightening, while palladium slipped to its lowest level since late 2018.

Spot gold eased 0.1 per cent to $1,820.70 per ounce by 0332 GMT, while US gold futures dropped 0.3pc to $1,836.20.

Prices fell for a seventh consecutive session on Tuesday to touch their lowest levels since March at $1,813.90, as the US dollar strengthened on data showing US job openings unexpectedly increased in August.

The unexpected rise in August US job openings highlights the durability of labour demand, NAB Resources said, adding that gold continues to decline on the higher-for-longer Federal Reserve rates outlook, strengthening U.S. bond yields and dollar.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday she was very optimistic about the outlook for the economy, adding that inflation was coming down in the short term and the labor market was “extremely strong.”

Benchmark US 10-year bond yields were at 16-year highs, diminishing demand for non-interest-paying bullion.

Fed officials see rising yields on long-term US Treasury debt as evidence their tight-money policies are working, but for now at least say they are not triggering alarm bells for the economy.

SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.2pc on Tuesday.

Spot silver was down 0.5pc to $21.04 per ounce, having slipped to its lowest since mid-March in the last session.

“Any near-term relief may find resistance at the $22.20 level, while failure to defend the $20.75 may pave the way towards the $19.80 level next,” IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said.

Platinum slid 1pc to $862.89 to touch its lowest in a year. Palladium dropped 1.5pc to $1,171.07 and hit a low since November 2018.