Gold edged lower on Thursday as the dollar recovered and softer U.S. inflation data dampened the bullion’s appeal as a hedge against inflation.
Spot gold fell 0.3% to $1,835.99 per ounce by 0328 GMT, after hitting a more than one-week high on Wednesday.
U.S. gold futures slipped 0.3% to $1,836.60.
“The dollar has rebounded from Wednesday’s low, that’s putting some pressure on precious metals. Low liquidity due to Chinese new year holiday is also weighing on the prices,” said DailyFX strategist Margaret Yang.
The dollar attempted a rebound from a two week low hit in the previous session, while benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields also steadied.
Gold has also lost some support due to a weaker U.S. inflation data as it shows there is not much of inflation down the road, Yang said.
The U.S. Consumer Price Index for January came in lower than expected.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in a speech on Wednesday emphasised on the need for fiscal policy and said it is the not the right time to focus on federal debt issues.
Investors kept a close watch on the developments on the passage of a $1.9 trillion U.S. relief bill.
“It’s quite a mixed narrative right now,” said Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at financial services firm Axi.
“Too much stimulus in the market could force the Fed to tighten the policy, that’s negative for gold, but if the stimulus isn’t big enough, gold is not going to benefit.”
Autocatalyst platinum fell 0.9% to $1,230.59 an ounce, after notching a peak since February 2015 of $1,250 on Wednesday.
“The bottom line is there could be a shortage” as platinum’s demand surges for automobiles and fabrication, Innes said.
CME Group raised margins for platinum futures by 10%.
Spot silver shed 0.8% to $26.78 and palladium eased 0.6% to $2,342.73.
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