FUNDAMENTALS
Spot gold fell 0.3% to $1,733.69 per ounce by 0119 GMT. U.S. gold futures were down 0.1% to $1,736.20 per ounce.
Asian stocks were set to track overnight Wall Street gains, as bond yields pulled back, easing concerns about inflation.
The dollar gained slightly, after it stumbled from four-month highs against a basket of currencies in the preceding session in line with a dip in U.S. Treasury yields.
Limiting the safe-haven metal’s losses, however, was a third wave of COVID-19 across Europe due to highly contagious coronavirus variants. This has raised concerns about another round of restrictions, with Paris going into a four-week lockdown late last week.
AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine performed better than expected in a major late-stage trial, paving the way for its potential emergency authorization in the United States and boosting confidence in the shot after setbacks in Europe.
The U.S. economy is “much improved,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Monday, but at the same time warned that the recovery is still “far from complete.”
The European Central Bank increased bond purchases by nearly half last week, ramping up its stimulus efforts to keep a lid on borrowing costs and convince sceptical investors it would do what it takes to restrain bond yields.
Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF), New York’s SPDR Gold Trust , rose 0.3% on Friday from Thursday.
Palladium rose 0.4% to $2,625.52, Silver fell 0.6% to $25.61 and platinum was down 0.3% at $1,179.59.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 UK Claimant Count Unem Chng Feb
0700 UK ILO Unemployment Rate Jan
1400 US New Home Sales-Units Feb
1600 US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gives virtual testimony on coronavirus aid, relief, and Economic Security Act before the House Financial Services Committee
