*
Powell's testimony to Congress scheduled for Tuesday,
Wednesday
*
Gold eases after touching 2-1/2 week high
*
U.S. February jobs data due on Friday
(Updates prices)
By Bharat Gautam
March 7 (Reuters) - Gold eased from an earlier near
three-week high on Monday as investors prepared for
Congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell
this week and monthly U.S. jobs data, both of which could
influence interest rate policy.
Spot gold was down 0.5% at $1,846.54 per ounce by
2:56 p.m. ET (1956 GMT), after hitting its highest since Feb. 15
at $1,858.19. U.S. gold futures settled unchanged at
$1,854.60.
Powell's testimony to Congress is set for Tuesday and
Wednesday, followed by the February U.S. jobs report due on
Friday.
Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, said there was some trepidation ahead of those two data points which will likely set the near-term tone for gold prices, adding that there could be more volatility after the jobs report.
"The marketplace is expecting a stronger jobs reading which
would mean the Fed's interest rates are going to stay higher for
longer," he said. "That could throw a monkey wrench into this
recent rally that we've seen in gold."
Prices are up over 2% since dropping to their lowest since
late December last week. Rising rates tend to decrease the
appetite for zero-yield bullion.
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said on Saturday that
if data continued to come in hotter than expected, interest
rates would need to go higher and stay there longer.
"Currently, gold is in a wait-and-see mode," said UBS analyst
Giovanni Staunovo. "There's unlikely to be a change of script
from Powell, reiterating the need for further rate hikes to
bring inflation under control."
The dollar index dipped 0.3%, making the greenback-priced bullion less expensive for overseas buyers and limiting losses on the day. Spot silver fell 1.1% to $21.01 per ounce. Platinum slipped 0.2% to $975.14 and palladium dropped 1% to $1,438.56. (Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam and Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Krishna Chandra Eluri)
