FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was flat at $1,913.54 per ounce, as of
0053 GMT. U.S. gold futures were also listless at
$1,916.20.
* Gold prices jumped more than 2% on Monday to hit their
highest since Feb. 3 at $1,914.58 despite efforts by U.S.
officials to limit the fallout from the now-shuttered Silicon
Valley Bank and restore investor confidence in the
banking system. Regulators had shuttered New York-based
Signature Bank on Sunday.
* HSBC bought the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank for
a symbolic one pound on Monday, rescuing a key lender for
technology start-ups in Britain.
* Markets are now largely pricing in a 25-basis-point rate
hike at next week's Fed policy meeting, with a 31.4% chance of a
pause in hikes.
* Gold is considered a hedge against economic uncertainties,
and tends to gain on expectations of lower interest rates, which
reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
* The U.S. consumer price index (CPI) report for February
due at 1230 GMT will be closely watched for cues on the Fed's
rate-hike plan.
* The dollar index was up 0.2%, making bullion more
expensive for buyers holding other currencies.
* SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 1.31% to 913.27
tonnes on Monday from 901.42 tonnes on Friday.
* Spot silver edged up 0.1% to $21.83 per ounce,
platinum eased 0.1% to $995.21 and palladium was
unchanged at $1,473.33.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 UK ILO Unemployment Rate Jan
0700 UK HMRC Payrolls Change Feb
1230 US Core CPI MM, SA Feb
1230 US Core CPI YY, NSA Feb
1230 US CPI Wage Earner Feb
(Reporting by Kavya Guduru in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
March 14 (Reuters) - Gold prices held above the key
$1,900 per ounce level on Tuesday as expectations of
less-aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes after the collapse of
two big U.S. regional banks lifted non-yielding bullion's
appeal.
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