Gold prices dipped on Monday, as easing fears of a wider Middle East conflict lowered bullion’s safe-haven appeal, while market participants awaited a key US inflation reading due later this week for interest rate cues.
Spot gold fell 0.9 percent to $2,369.97 per ounce. US gold futures fell 1.2 percent to $2,383.80.
Tehran downplayed Israel’s retaliatory drone strike against Iran, in what appeared to be a move aimed at averting regional escalation.
Gold slipped on Monday after rising as high as $2,417.59 in the previous session, a level not far away from a record high of $2,431.29 hit on April 12.
“Right now, there is a lack of catalyst for gold prices to actually push up higher. At this juncture, it seems to us that the market is now coming to the realization on the higher cost of holding gold,” said Kelvin Wong, a senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at OANDA.
Asian stocks recovered some losses and bond yields rose as fears of a wider Middle East conflict ebbed, with investors gravitating back towards riskier assets.
Benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields edged up and were last at 4.6599 percent, making non-yielding bullion less attractive.
