Gold falls as US dollar, yields rise on hawkish Fed comments

Aug 3 (Reuters) – Gold slipped on Wednesday as the dollar and US Treasury yields advanced after hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials hinted at continuing aggressive interest rate hikes in the near term.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was down 0.2% at USD 1,757.08 per ounce, as of 0105 GMT, after hitting a near one-month high of USD 1,787.79 on Tuesday.

* US gold futures dropped 0.9% to USD 1,772.80 per ounce.

* The dollar was up 0.1% against its rivals after rising 0.8% overnight, making greenback-denominated gold more expensive for other currency holders.

* Benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields rallied to 2.7740%, after hitting a four-month low of 2.5160 on Tuesday.

* A trio of Fed officials from across the policy spectrum signaled they and their colleagues remain “completely united” on getting US interest rates up to a level that will more significantly curb economic activity and put a dent in the highest inflation since the 1980s.

* St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said if inflation does not respond to the Fed’s interest rate increases by easing as expected, then rates will have to remain “higher for longer”.

* Traders now see a chance of about 44% that the Fed will hike rates by another 75 basis points at its next meeting in September.

* Although gold is considered a hedge against inflation, rising US interest rates reduce the appeal of non-yielding bullion.

* SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.3% to 1,002.97 tonnes on Tuesday from 1,005.87 tonnes on Monday.

* The Biden administration wants to keep tensions between Washington and Beijing inflamed by a high level visit to Taiwan from boiling over into a conflict, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.

* Spot silver fell 0.7% to USD 19.81 per ounce, platinum was down 0.3% at USD 891.32, and palladium eased 0.1% to USD 2,061.

(Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)