(Updates prices) * Gold set to post largest weekly fall since end-November * Precious metal to struggle as long as yields rise - analyst * Silver on course for biggest weekly dip since mid-Jan, down 1.5% * Platinum looks set to post third weekly gain By Nakul Iyer Feb 19 Gold extended its losing streak to a seventh session on Friday, sliding to its lowest since early July as U.S. Treasury yields continued their march higher, souring the non-interest bearing metal's appeal. Spot gold fell 0.3% to $1,769.61 per ounce by 1207 GMT, having hit its lowest since July 2 at $1,759.29 earlier in the session. The safe-haven metal has slipped 2.9% so far this week and is on track to match November 2018's seven-day streak of daily losses, the longest since November 2016. U.S. gold futures fell 0.5% to $1,766.90. "As long as yields move higher, the market is simply going to struggle to find a footing," said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen, adding that if the metal fails to hold the $1,765 level, a further downward move could be likely. Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields hovered near a one-year high hit earlier this week, pushing investors into riskier assets and away from bullion. Weaker U.S. employment data that undermined recovery hopes also failed to keep gold prices afloat. But analysts say gold should still benefit from continued loose monetary policy and low real interest rates this year. Commerzbank analysts said in a note that gold's behaviour resembled that of a tsunami, with prices receding in the first phase before coming back all the more violently. Autocatalyst metal platinum edged 0.1% down to $1,273.50 an ounce, but was set to post its third straight weekly gain, having hit a more than six-year peak earlier in the week. "If the ongoing overall reflation focus supporting commodities with a tight and a green theme attached to it continues, then platinum will continue to attract investment demand," Saxo's Hansen said. Palladium dropped 0.3% to $2,345.36 an ounce, while silver fell 0.2% to $26.96 and was set for its biggest weekly decline since mid-January, slipping 1.5%. (Reporting by Nakul Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by David Evans and Jan Harvey)
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Gold slipped to its lowest in over two months on Wednesday as surging U.S. Treasury yields and a firmer dollar continued to take a toll on the metal.
* Benchmark U.S. yields at highest since February 2020 * Dollar rebounds from three-week low * Minutes of U.S. Fed Jan. meeting due at 1900 GMT (Adds comments, updates prices) By Nakul Iyer Feb 17 Gold slipped to its lowest in over two months on Wednesday as surging U.S. Treasury yields and a firmer dollar continued to take a toll on the metal. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,790.90 per ounce by 1244 GMT, having hit its lowest since Dec. 1 at $1,782.40 earlier in the day after dropping 1.3% in the previous session. U.S. gold futures fell 0.5% to $1,789.70. "Gold markets seem to be fixated on U.S. yields," Natixis analyst Bernard Dahdah said. "While there is an amazing amount of liquidity, we are going out of lockdowns and we are expecting growth to go back to normal levels," he added, noting that given such optimism investors had little interest in the safe-haven metal. Growing expectations for inflation spurred benchmark U.S. Treasury yields to their highest since late February 2020. The surge in yields in turn prompted the dollar to rebound from a three-week low, further pressuring gold. Breakeven inflation , a measure of expected inflation, is at its highest since August 2014 at 2.2%. While gold is seen as an inflation hedge, higher inflation expectations have pushed yields up, increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold. Progress on a $1.9 trillion U.S coronavirus relief plan, as President Joe Biden built support for the bill that includes $1,400 stimulus checks, further drove yields up. But gold could come back into favour once other currencies start to outperform the U.S. dollar later this year, said OANDA analyst Craig Erlam, adding that the metal could scale the levels seen in November, December and January, when it pushed above $1,900. Investors are also looking forward to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's end-January monetary policy meeting due on Wednesday. Platinum , used in catalytic converters for vehicles, fell 2.5% to $1,230.36, well below Tuesday's high of $1,336.50, a peak since September 2014. Palladium declined 0.8% to $2,364.03, while silver eased 0.3% to $27.14. (Reporting by Nakul Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter and Jan Harvey)
* There are signs of speculative excess in platinum- analyst * Benchmark U.S. yields at highest since March * Minutes of U.S. Fed Jan meeting due on Wednesday (Adds comments, updates prices) By Nakul Iyer Feb 16 - Platinum prices eased in choppy trading on Tuesday after rallying to a near 6-1/2-year high on bets that a pick-up in global economic activity this year would boost demand for the industrial metal. Platinum fell 0.3% to $1,298.38 an ounce by 1246 GMT, having earlier hit $1,336.50, its highest since September 2014. "Platinum's fundamentals have not yet improved... there is a positive story coming but the market is still in a fabrication surplus, and that's challenging price dynamics," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Prices have rallied as much as 25.1% this year, driven by hopes that increased demand for automobiles and a push for cleaner energy would spur demand for the metal used in automobile catalytic converters to limit exhaust emissions. "While the upswing in the platinum price was fundamentally justified at first given its previous undervaluation and the expectation of a renewed supply deficit, we now see signs of speculative excess," Commerzbank analysts said in a note. On the technical front, "the 14-day Relative Strength Index (of platinum) is now in overbought territory, which should sound alarm bells," they added. Investors also kept close tabs on the potential roll-out of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in top platinum producer South Africa. Spot palladium slipped 0.1% to $2,385.00 an ounce, having earlier hit a one-month high of $2,424.26. Spot gold edged 0.2% lower to $1,815.80 per ounce pressured by higher benchmark U.S. Treasury yields. Bullion is considered a hedge against inflation likely spurred by massive stimulus, but higher yields have challenged that status since they increase non-yielding gold's opportunity cost. Real rates and inflation expectations in the United States will remain a key driver for gold. Inflation expectations could pick up again with rising oil and commodity prices, potentially supporting gold, UBS' Staunovo said. U.S. gold futures fell 0.4% to $1,815.70 per ounce, while silver was steady at $27.59. (Reporting by Nakul Iyer in Bengaluru. Editing by Mark Potter and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Platinum prices climbed to their highest level in over six years on Monday, buoyed by expectations of a wider supply-demand deficit for the industrial metal as investors bet on a swift global economic rebound.
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* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: https://tmsnrt.rs/3mvcUoa (Add comments, graphic, updates prices)
* Gold up 0.2% this week * Platinum set for best week since early December * Gold could rise to $1,950/oz this year -analyst (Updates prices, adds quotes) By Nakul Iyer Feb 12 Gold slipped as the dollar rebounded on Friday while platinum took a breather after expectations of a rebound in industrial demand drove a rally to a more than six-year peak and put it on course for its best week in two months. Spot gold lost 0.5% to $1,816.40 an ounce by 1221 GMT and U.S. gold futures were down 0.6% at $1,816.30. "The inverse relationship between gold and the dollar has been strong recently and the rebound in the dollar has had a negative impact," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK. The dollar edged up 0.2%, reducing gold's appeal to buyers holding other currencies. "In the short term, there is little to suggest that the prospects for gold will brighten, as this would require inflation risks to increase noticeably," Commerzbank analysts said in a note. Gold is often seen as a hedge against inflation. Still, expectations for an economic stimulus package in the United States helped to keep gold prices on course for a first weekly rise in three. "Our thesis for the next year or two is that equities and gold are going to do well because of inflationary expectations and monetary and fiscal stimulus remain supportive for both," said Hitesh Jain, lead analyst at Mumbai-based Yes Securities, adding that the metal could rise to $1,950 this year. Spot platinum dropped 1.3% to $1,219.13 an ounce after scaling a more than six-year peak of $1,268.88 on Thursday. The autocatalyst metal was also set for its best week since early December, gaining more than 8%. "Reports that some futures and derivative exchanges have increased their margin requirements have put the brakes on the demand for platinum," CMC's Madden said. But expectations of a rebound in industrial production and the automotive sector this year should lift the metal, he added. Silver rose 0.3% to $27.04 an ounce and palladium gained 0.3% to $2,351.47. (Reporting by Nakul Iyer in Bengaluru Editing by Barbara Lewis and David Goodman )
Feb 11 Rice export prices in India, the top exporter of the staple, remained anchored near a three-year high this week as other Asian and African buyers continued purchases, shrugging off the uptick in rates in recent weeks.
U.S. President Joe Biden's nominee to be director of the CIA, William Burns, told a Senate committee on Wednesday that he saw competition with China - and countering its "adversarial, predatory" leadership - as the key to U.S. national security.