Gold Declines as Dollar Gains Strength and U.S. Treasury Yields Increase

By Gina Lee

Gold prices experienced a decline on Wednesday morning in Asia as the dollar strengthened and U.S. Treasury yields increased. Market attention is also fixed on the upcoming U.S. jobs report, set to be released later in the week.

Gold prices were down 0.32%, sitting at $1,755.30 as of 12:38 AM ET (4:38 AM GMT). The dollar, which typically moves inversely to gold, edged higher and remained close to its peak levels for 2021, while the benchmark Treasury yield ticked upwards.

The jobs report, which includes unemployment data, is scheduled for release on Friday and is crucial in shaping the U.S. Federal Reserve’s timeline for starting asset tapering.

According to Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, ongoing supply bottlenecks are primarily driving the recent inflationary increases, but he believes these issues will ease over time. He also indicated that the Fed is nearing the commencement of asset tapering.

Recent data showed that the U.S. manufacturing index stood at 54.9 for September, while the services index registered at 61.9.

In other news, gold product sales at the Perth Mint surged by approximately 83% in September, reaching their highest level since April 2021, with silver sales also rising nearly 23%.

The governor of the National Bank of Poland, Adam Glapinski, announced the possibility of an additional purchase of 100 tons of gold for the country’s reserves in 2022.

In the Asia Pacific region, the central bank announced a policy decision earlier in the day, raising interest rates to 0.50%, up from 0.25% the previous month. Another central bank is expected to announce its decision on Friday.

In the precious metals market, silver prices dropped by 0.4%, palladium decreased by 0.3%, and platinum eased 0.2% to $960.11.