Gold inches lower on dollar recovery from 2-week trough, low inflation data

By Sumita Layek

(Reuters) - Gold edged lower on Thursday as the dollar's recovery from a two-week trough hit in the previous session and a softer U.S. inflation data dampened bullion's appeal.

Spot gold fell 0.3% to $1,837.13 per ounce by 0636 GMT, after hitting a more than one-week high on Wednesday.

U.S. gold futures slipped 0.3% to $1,837.40.

"The dollar has rebounded from Wednesday's low, that's putting some pressure on precious metals. Low liquidity due to Chinese new year holiday is also weighing on the prices," said DailyFX strategist Margaret Yang.

Gold has also lost some support as U.S. data showed there is not much of inflation down the road, Yang said.

The U.S. Consumer Price Index for January came in lower than expected. Gold is considered a hedge against inflation.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in a speech on Wednesday emphasised on the need for fiscal policy and said it is the not the right time to focus on federal debt issues.

Investors kept a close watch on the developments on the passage of a $1.9 trillion U.S. relief bill.

"It's quite a mixed narrative right now," said Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at financial services firm Axi.

"Too much stimulus in the market could force the Fed to tighten the monetary policy, that's negative for gold, but if the stimulus isn't big enough, gold is not going to benefit."

Autocatalyst platinum rose 0.3% to $1,244.84 an ounce, having notching a peak since February 2015 of $1,250 on Wednesday.

"The bottom line is there could be a shortage" as platinum's demand surges for automobiles and fabrication, Innes said.

CME Group raised margins for platinum futures by 10%.

Spot silver shed 0.5% to $26.86 and palladium eased 0.6% to $2,340.94.

 

(Reporting by Sumita Layek in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)