Aug 10 (Reuters) - Gold prices languished near multi-month lows on Tuesday, hurt by a rise in U.S. bond yields and a stronger dollar after robust U.S. jobs data last week raised bets over the Federal Reserve tapering stimulus earlier than expected.
FUNDAMENTALS
- Spot gold was little changed at $1,730.47 per ounce by 0039 GMT. On Monday, prices touched $1,684.37, their lowest since March 31.
- U.S. gold futures edged 0.4% higher to $1,732.90 per ounce.
- The dollar index firmed near more than two-week high, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.
- U.S. Treasury yields rose to a more than three week high as record-high job openings on top of stronger-than-expected employment gains in July added to the narrative of an improving labour market.
- Job openings, a measure of labour demand, shot up by 590,000 to a record high of 10.1 million on the last day of June, the U.S. Labour Department reported in its monthly Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey (JOLTS).
- Two Federal Reserve officials said on Monday that the U.S. economy is growing rapidly and that while the labour market still has room for improvement, inflation is already at a level that could satisfy one leg of a key test for the beginning of interest rate hikes.
- Some investors view gold as a hedge against higher inflation, but a Fed rate hike would dull bullion's appeal as that increases the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding metal.
- SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.2% to 1,023.54 tonnes on Monday from 1,025.28 tonnes on Friday.
- Silver was steady at $23.43 per ounce after falling to an eight-month low in the previous session. Platinum edged 0.1% higher to $980.81 and palladium rose 0.1% to $2,603.20.