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Silver, platinum, palladium set for monthly gain
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Dollar, yields on track for monthly fall
(Updates prices)
By Deep Kaushik Vakil
April 28 (Reuters) - Gold bounced back on Friday on a
dip in yields and renewed concerns over the U.S. banking
turmoil, putting the safe haven on course for its second monthly
rise even as steady U.S. inflation reinforced bets for an
interest rate hike next week.
Spot gold was 0.1% higher at $1,989.91 per ounce
by 1:45 p.m. EDT (1745 GMT), up about 1.1% for the month. U.S.
gold futures settled unchanged at $1,999.10.
The Federal Reserve issued a detailed and scathing
assessment of its failure to identify problems and push for
fixes at Silicon Valley Bank before the lender's collapse,
promising tougher supervision and stricter rules.
The Fed's report culminated around the same time as a
decline in 10-year Treasury yields, turning gold positive, "but
everything hinges on what (Fed Chair Jerome) Powell's going to
say next week", said Daniel Pavilonis, senior market strategist
at RJO Futures.
Benchmark yields fell after data showed the pace
of overall inflation slowed in March and consumer spending was
steady. But the data also indicated that the underlying price
pressures remained strong, prompting traders to add to bets for
a rate hike next week.
Elevated rates dull zero-yielding bullion's appeal.
"Gold seems likely to remain in its tight recent range for
now, though a weekly close under $1,965 could trigger further
losses, while bulls would welcome a push back above $2,000,"
said Tai Wong, an independent metals trader based in New York,
adding it remains in question whether the Fed would signal a
pause.
Gold had scaled a one-year peak of $2,048.71 in mid-April as
the banking crisis unfolded.
The dollar is headed for a monthly decline, making
bullion cheaper for overseas buyers. Silver steadied at $24.95 per ounce, platinum was flat at $1,077.04, while palladium gained 0.1%
to $1,496.47 — all headed for their second monthly advances.
(Reporting by Deep Vakil, Arpan Varghese and Ashitha
Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle, Shilpi
Majumdar and Diane Craft)
