Gold edges lower as firmer US dollar offsets easing bond yields

(Reuters) - Gold edged lower on Friday, as a firmer dollar made bullion more expensive for other currency holders, although a pullback in the U.S. Treasury yields limited losses for the safe-haven metal.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,823.77 per ounce by 0127 GMT. Bullion lost 0.4% so far this week.

* U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,823.20.

* The dollar index held firm near a one-week high, and was set for a weekly gain against its rivals. [USD/]

* Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields slipped from a more than one-month high hit on Thursday. Lower bond yields reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing gold. [US/]

* Data on Thursday showed that fewer Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, while producer prices increased more than expected in April.

* Recent economic readings out of the United States have sparked concerns over rising inflation and raised bets over an earlier-than-expected Federal Reserve rate hike.

* The U.S. central bank has pledged to keep interest rates low until the economy reaches full employment, and inflation hits 2% and is on track to "moderately" exceed that level for some time.

* Gold tends to benefit from lower interest rate environment as it reduces the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

* Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he expects inflation to exceed the Fed's 2% target for the next two years, but added that the Fed would not raise rates until it sees inflation above target for a long time, or excessively high inflation.

* Palladium gained 0.7% to $2,883.71 per ounce, but was on track to post a second straight weekly loss with a drop of about 2%.

* Silver was flat at $27.06 per ounce, while platinum was up 0.6% at $1,212.88.

 

 

(Reporting by Shreyansi Singh in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)