Gold gains as dollar, Treasury yields weaken after US inflation data

(Reuters) - Gold gained on Thursday as the dollar and Treasury yields slipped after U.S. consumer price data suggested inflation might have peaked in April, allaying some concerns of more aggressive Fed rate hikes.

A weaker dollar makes gold attractive for overseas buyers, while lower Treasury yields reduce the opportunity cost of holding zero-yield bullion.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,855.11 per ounce, as of 0103 GMT, having risen as much as 1.1% in the previous session. U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,856.90.

* The dollar fell, lifting demand for greenback-priced gold, after economic data showed inflation remained high but was unlikely to lead the U.S. central bank to shift to a more aggressive path of monetary policy. [USD/]

* The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3% last month, the smallest gain since August, the Labor Department said on Wednesday, versus the 1.2% month-to-month surge in the CPI in March, the largest advance since September 2005.

* Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields were down after the data failed to ease concerns that the Federal Reserve's agenda to cool rising prices may induce a recession. [US/]

* The Fed raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by half a percentage point last week, the biggest hike in 22 years, as it moves to unwind ultra-easy pandemic-era monetary policy and attempts to combat soaring inflation.

* Spot silver was up 0.1% to $21.57 per ounce, while platinum dipped 0.2% to $990.64, and palladium fell 0.7% to $2,021.16.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0600 UK GDP Est 3M/3M March

0600 UK GDP Estimate MM, YY March

0600 UK Manufacturing Output MM March

0600 UK GDP Prelim QQ, YY Q1

 

(Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)