PRECIOUS-Gold eases as dollar firms and investors await Powell testimony

* Gold's trend seems to be to the downside -analyst
* U.S. 10-year yields hover near one-year high

(Updates prices)
By K. Sathya Narayanan
Feb 23 (Reuters) - Gold eased from a one-week peak on
Tuesday, pressured by a firmer dollar, but held in a tight range
as investors turned cautious ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve
Chairman Jerome Powell's testimony to Congress later in the day.
Spot gold XAU= slipped 0.1% to $1,807.60 an ounce by 1156
GMT, trading between $1,802.80 and $1,815.63 during the session.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 eased 0.1% to $1,807.00.
Movements in gold are indicative of a "wait and see
approach", said OANDA analyst Craig Erlam.
The testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday
and House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on
Wednesday will be Powell's first since President Joe Biden and
his fellow Democrats took control of the White House and Capitol
Hill.
"There are clearly going to be a number of questions around
what (rising U.S. Treasury yields, stimulus and improved
economic outlook) would mean for inflation, the Fed outlook and
the risks associated with it," OANDA's Erlam said.
Bullion earlier rose to its highest since Feb. 16 at
$1,815.63 as the dollar .DXY briefly touched a more than
one-month low. However, the U.S. currency has since rebounded
and was last up 0.1% against key rivals. USD/
Also tarnishing appeal for non-yielding bullion, benchmark
U.S. Treasury yields US10YT=RR hovered near a one-year high
scaled on Monday. US/
"Gold's trend seems to be to the downside, and there's no
indication that it's reversing for now ... until we get a real
spike in inflation expectations or a Fed that talks about
controlling the yield curve," said IG Market analyst Kyle Rodda.
Rising yields tend to hurt bullion's appeal as an inflation
hedge since they increase the opportunity cost of holding the
metal.
Silver XAG= was down 0.9% at $27.92 an ounce, having
earlier hit a three-week peak at $28.31. Platinum XPT= fell
1.9% to $1,248.93 while palladium XPD= lost 1.3% to $2,365.27.