Gold prices oscillate around $1,800 mark; firm dollar weighs

Gold prices slipped for a third straight session on Thursday as the dollar gained, with bullion hovering around the $1,800 mark as it heads towards its worst annual performance in six years.

Spot gold fell 0.2% to $1,799.54 per ounce by 0934 GMT, while U.S. gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,800.80.

"The $1,800 level seems to be behaving more like a magnet to the market with good buying below that level and good selling above it," said independent analyst Ross Norman, adding that $1,814 is acting as technical resistance and $1,835 is "now the big number for the market".

"Gold is seeing a little bit of buying on the basis of new position-taking and on the other hand, it's seeing some good selling on the basis of dollar strength in particular."

The dollar index gained 0.3%, recovering from close to a one-month low hit in the last session, while benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields steadied near a one-month peak, raising the opportunity cost of holding non-interest paying gold. [USD/] [US/]

Gold prices have fallen about 5% in 2021, the most since 2015, as economies recovered from the impact of the pandemic, reducing demand for safe-haven bullion.

Prices hit a one-month high on Tuesday, but slipped to a one-week low in the next session.

The back and forth seen over the last two days hours is less to do with any fundamental catalyst and is more an example of the market being very thin, meaning volatility is amplified, DailyFX currency strategist Ilya Spivak said.

Investors await U.S. weekly initial jobless claims data, a measure of the country's economic health, due at 1330 GMT.

Spot silver dipped 0.5% to $22.69 an ounce, platinum eased 0.2%, to $965.73, and palladium fell 0.5% to $1,973.80, all set for their worst showing in several years.

 

(Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautum, Seher Dareen, and Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi, Shounak Dasgupta and Barbara Lewis)