Gold suffers its fourth weekly decline as the surging dollar reduces its appeal.


FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,820.54 an ounce, 0054 GMT, after hitting its lowest level since February 7 earlier in the session. US gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,821.20.

* Bullion is on course for a weekly decline of 3.2%, the largest in two months.

* The dollar stabilized near a new 20-year high hit on Thursday amid lingering fears that the U.S. central bank’s moves to curb high inflation could hamper global economic growth, which reinforces the attractiveness of the currency as a safe haven.

* The rising dollar sent gold and other precious metals, safe haven rivals, lower in the previous session, with palladium losing more than 8%.

* Benchmark yields on 10-year US Treasury notes rose slightly on Friday, ending a four-session decline and adding pressure on zero-yielding gold. [US/]

* Calling price stability the “foundation” of the economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Thursday that the U.S. central bank’s battle to control inflation “would include some pain” as the impact higher interest rates would be felt, but the worst result would be that prices continue to soar.

* Although considered an inflation hedge, bullion is sensitive to rising short-term interest rates and bond yields in the United States, which increases the opportunity cost of holding it.

* Spot silver rose 0.5% to $20.76 an ounce, but is poised for a fourth straight weekly decline, having lost around 6.9% so far this week.

* Platinum gained 0.8% to $951.50 and palladium rose 1.4% to $1,934.36, but suffered weekly losses of around 1.2% and 5.2%, respectively .



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