Gold steadies as soft dollar offsets stable US bond yields

[BENGALURU] Gold prices were steady on Tuesday (Nov 9), consolidating near a 2-month high scaled in the previous session, as a weak dollar offset firm US bond yields.

Spot gold was little changed at US$1,823.53 per ounce by 12.51 am GMT. US gold futures fell 0.1 per cent to US$1,825.80.

The precious metal hit its highest since Sep 7 on Monday (Nov 8) as the dollar softened and major central banks signalled inflation would likely fade and immediate interest rate hikes were not required.

On Tuesday, the dollar steadied close to the previous session's lows, helping to reduce bullion's cost for buyers holding other currencies.

The benchmark US 10-year yield was little changed at 1.4862 per cent after rising 4 basis points in the previous session, dimming gold's appeal by raising the non-yielding metal's opportunity cost.

US Federal Reserve officials are focused on a debate over how many more jobs the economy can add, and how much longer high inflation can be tolerated.

Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans on Monday said that while he is a bit more nervous about inflation staying high than he had previously been, he still believes the Fed will not need to raise interest rates until 2023.

Gold has benefited from near-zero interest rates introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic as they reduce bullion's opportunity cost.

The United Arab Emirates will require all gold refineries to undergo annual audits to ensure their suppliers are responsible, it told Reuters, in an effort to combat illicit trading.

Russia produced 256.54 tonnes of gold between January and September, up from 253.77 tonnes it produced in the same period in 2020, the finance ministry said.

Spot silver fell 0.1 per cent to US$24.42 per ounce. Platinum dropped 0.4 per cent to US$1,052.28 and palladium climbed 0.2 per cent to US$2,074.06.

REUTERS