FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,832.73 per ounce by 0109 GMT.
* U.S. gold futures eased 0.1% to $1,834.30.
* The dollar index was up 0.1%, making gold more expensive for other currency holders. [USD/]
* The U.S. currency slipped to a more than two-month low in the previous session after worries about rising inflation threatened to erode its value.
* Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields hit their highest in more than a week. Higher bond yields raise the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold. [US/]
* Federal Reserve officials grappled on Tuesday with April’s surprisingly weak employment growth, maintaining faith in the U.S. economic rebound but acknowledging the pace of the jobs recovery may prove choppier than anticipated.
* Market participants awaited the release of U.S. consumer price data due 1230 GMT on Wednesday for further cues on the Fed’s stance on inflation.
* U.S. job openings surged to a record high in March, further evidence that a shortage of workers was hampering job growth, even as nearly 10 million Americans are looking for employment.
* Asian shares languished near one-month lows. [MKTS/GLOB]
* South Korea’s unemployment rate fell to an eight-month low in April, while the number of people employed rose at the sharpest pace in nearly seven years as the economic recovery continues.
* Palladium rose 0.2% to $2,942.67 per ounce.
* Silver fell 0.6% to $27.47 per ounce, while platinum slipped 0.5% to $1,228.68.
