Gold rises on inflation worries after passage of US stimulus bill

(Reuters) - Gold prices gained on Monday as the passage of a U.S. stimulus bill stoked inflation risks, although a resultant bounce in Treasury yields kept gains in check.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,732.02 per ounce by 0134 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for April delivery rose 0.7% to $1,730.90 per ounce.

* Yields on benchmark 10-year notes held near their highest in more than a year on continued U.S. economic optimism after a $1.9 trillion recovery package was signed into law last week. [US/]

* Gold is generally considered a hedge against inflation, although higher bond yields have challenged that status recently as they increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

* U.S. producer prices increased strongly in February, leading to the largest annual gain in nearly 2-1/2 years, data showed on Friday.

* The number of Americans filing new jobless claims fell to a four-month low last week, while the U.S. market morale rose to its highest in a year in early March.

* Investors piled into equities, while pulling money out of gold and bonds in the week up to March 10, data from BofA Global Research showed.

* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.3% to 1,052.07 tonnes on Friday from 1,055.27 tonnes on Thursday.

* Hedge funds and money managers slashed their bullish positions in COMEX gold and silver contracts in the week to March 9, data showed said on Friday.

* Silver rose 0.9% to $26.14, platinum rose 1% to $1,217.37, while palladium fell 0.1% to $2,369.17.

 

(Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)