Gold rises on hopes of rates staying low, firm treasury yields cap gains

Spot gold was up 0.3 per cent at $1,821.02 per ounce by 07:12 GMT, after falling more than 1 per cent in the previous session

Gold edged up on Thursday on hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve would not raise interest rates anytime soon, although a surge in US Treasury yields following a sharp rise in April consumer prices capped gains.

Spot gold was up 0.3% at $1,821.02 per ounce by 0712 GMT, after falling more than 1% in the previous session.

U.S. gold futures eased 0.1% to $1,821.60.

"We're still getting on the aftershock of that consumer price index release and the expectations now from the market that the Fed will be forced to do something about inflation," IG Market analyst Kyle Rodda said.

The Fed, however, has been reiterating that inflation will be so transitory that it won't have to worry about adjusting interest rates, he added.

Data on Wednesday showed U.S. consumer prices increased the most in nearly 12 years in April, intensifying concerns over rising inflation.

Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida said the twin surprises of weak jobs growth and strong inflation in April has not dented the U.S. central bank's plans to keep its support for the economy wide open.

"The Fed is probably quite focused on unemployment as a reason for keeping the narrative dovish," Nicholas Frappell, global general manager at ABC Bullion, said.

The Fed pledged to leave borrowing costs unchanged until the economy reaches full employment, and inflation hits 2% and is on track to "moderately" exceed that level for some time.

"Given the Flexible Average Inflation target, there is awareness that the Fed can allow for some inflationary room," Frappell added.

Lower U.S. interest rates put pressure on the dollar and bond yields, raising the appeal of non-yielding bullion.

However, worries over rising inflation lifted benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields to their highest in more than a month, while the dollar held firm. [US/]

Palladium rose 0.9% to $2,881.20 per ounce. Silver was up 0.1% at $27.06 per ounce, while platinum advanced 0.5% to $1,215.23.