Gold ticks up as US bond yields slip before key US data

Jul 22, 2023

* US job openings data for July due at 1400 GMT

* SPDR Gold Trust holdings rise 0.3% on Monday

* Platinum hits one-month peak

Aug 29 (Reuters) - Gold edged higher on Tuesday as bondyields drifted lower, while markets looked to upcoming data onthe U.S. labour market and inflation that is expected toinfluence the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision nextmonth.

Spot gold was up 0.2% to $1,922.80 per ounce at 1001GMT, hovering close to its highest level since Aug. 10 reachedon Monday. U.S. gold futures gained 0.3% to $1,951.70.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields moved further away frommulti-year highs touched last week, supportingnon-interest-bearing bullion.

"If the U.S. economy is slowing down, that might allow theFed to be on hold for the time being on the policy side and thatpotentially should take out some of the fears that further ratehikes are coming in the short term," said UBS analyst GiovanniStaunovo.

Bullion tends to underperform when higher interest ratesboost yields on rival safe-havens like U.S. bonds.

After Fed Chair Jerome Powell in his remarks at Jackson Holelast week left the door open for more rate hikes, markets arebetting on a roughly 1-in-5 chance of another hike at the U.S.central bank's September meeting, according to the CME FedWatchtool.

Markets are positioning for a slew of U.S. economic datathat could firm or trim those bets, with July job openings dueat 1400 GMT, the Fed's favoured inflation gauge set to come onThursday, and non-farm payrolls on Friday.

SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backedexchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.3% on Monday.

"The fact that the price has been recovering since themiddle of last week suggests that the selling pressure exertedby speculative financial investors has abated," Commerzbankanalyst Carsten Fritsch said in an note.

Silver rose 0.4% to $24.35, its highest sinceAug. 2, and platinum gained 0.6% to a one-month high of$970.02. Palladium was mostly flat at $1,253.85.

(Reporting by Deep Vakil in BengaluruEditing by Mark Potter)