Gold Slips, Set For Second Weekly Gain on Ukraine Woes

GOLD - JAKARTA. Gold slipped on Friday, as U.S. Treasury yields gained overnight on red-hot inflation data, but prices were set for a second straight weekly gain after talks between Russia and Ukraine did not make any progress. 

Spot gold shed 0.6% to $1,984.91 per ounce by 0615 GMT. U.S. gold futures were down 0.6% to $1,989.20. 

"To a large degree it's going to be a war-driven trade again. But what's going to cap sentiment in the absence of any war-time escalation is the FOMC, which is going to be a little bit more hawkish than what markets have currently priced in," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management. 

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Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields rose on Thursday after U.S. inflation data saw its sharpest increase in 40 years, locking in expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week, while the European Central Bank took a hawkish turn. Gold is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates, which increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. 

Investors scurried to safe-haven assets over the Ukraine crisis that led to a rally in gold prices, which have jumped as much as 8.5% in the last two weeks, bringing them closer to their record levels hit in August 2020. 

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Spot gold may retest a support at $1,976 per ounce, a break could cause a fall into $1,924-$1,953 range, according to Reuters' technical analyst Wang Tao. Palladium , used by automakers in catalytic converters to curb emissions, was up 0.2% to $2,933.67 per ounce. 

The metal hit a record high of $3,440.76 on Monday, driven by fears of supply disruptions from top producer Russia. Spot silver fell 0.9% to $25.64 per ounce, while platinum was down 0.7% to $1,061.23 and was set for its worst weekly decline since November.

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