Gold prices were flat on Thursday, hovering below a more than four-month high hit in the previous session, as the dollar firmed and US Treasury yields rose after the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's last monetary policy meeting.
Spot gold was flat at $1,869.50 per ounce, after hitting its highest since Jan. 8 at $1,889.75 on Wednesday. US gold futures fell 0.7 per cent to $1,869.20 per ounce.
Minutes of the US central bank's April 27-28 meeting said a number of policymakers thought if the US economy continued rapid progress, it would be appropriate "at some point" to discuss tightening its accommodative policy. Higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding bullion. The dollar index bounced off from a near three-month low, while benchmark US Treasury yields rose to a one-week high after the Fed minutes.
British inflation more than doubled in April, the start of a likely climb in prices this year as rich economies recover from pandemic lockdowns, but one that the Bank of England hopes will prove temporary.
The surge in euro zone inflation is temporary and consumer prices should fall sharply next year, European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel told German broadcaster ARD on Wednesday.
Japan's exports grew the most since 2010 in April, supported by a favourable comparison with the sharp plunge seen during the initial months of the pandemic a year earlier. *PDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.5 per cent to 1,031.27 tonnes on Wednesday from 1,035.93 tonnes on Tuesday.
Palladium gained 0.3 per cent to $2,875.94 per ounce, silver eased 0.3 per cent to $27.66, while platinum edged 0.2 per cent higher to $1,193.32.