PRECIOUS-Gold eases as dollar strengthens on stimulus hopes

* Silver falls as much as 4.2%
* Dollar hits near three-week peak
* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
https://tmsnrt.rs/3mvcUoa

(Updates prices)
By Shreyansi Singh
Jan 11 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Monday, having touched a
six-week low earlier in the session, clamped down by a firm
dollar and a rise in U.S. Treasury yields on hopes of more
fiscal stimulus.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.1% at $1,846.61 per ounce by
2:08 p.m. EST (1908 GMT), after touching its lowest level since
Dec. 2 at $1,816.53.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 , meanwhile, settled up 0.8% at
$1,850.80.
"We've seen a little rebound in the dollar, a slight pickup
in yields and as a result we have seen some commodities markets,
including the metals, pull back," said David Meger, director of
metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
A "quiet period" prior to the inauguration of the Joe Biden
administration in Washington and the Democratic agenda being put
forward on interest rates, liquidity and stimulus are also
weighing on the metals, Meger added.
The dollar index .DXY scaled a near three-week peak,
helped by gains in the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield US10YT=RR .
US/ USD/
"If the yield curve becomes steeper and differentials become
much wider, expect to see a strong recovery in the dollar
despite the new billions in expected stimulus," Kitco Metals
senior analyst Jim Wyckoff said in a note.
President-elect Biden said on Friday that Americans need
more economic relief from the coronavirus pandemic now and that
he will deliver a plan costing "trillions" of dollars on
Thursday. While gold has generally been seen as a hedge against the
inflation and currency debasement that could result from
widespread stimulus, especially last year, that has changed as
higher bond yields increase the opportunity cost of holding
non-interest-yielding bullion.
Elsewhere, silver XAG= fell 1.4% to $25.02 per ounce,
having earlier hit a near one-month low of $24.30.
Silver "should continue moving in gold's slipstream", Julius
Baer analyst Carsten Menke said in a note.
Platinum XPT= dropped 2.6% to $1,037.50 per ounce while
palladium XPD= was steady at $2,370.53.

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Gold pressured by dollar's gains https://tmsnrt.rs/35xsGch
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