PRECIOUS-Gold eases off seven-week peak as U.S. yields rebound

* Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields rise above 1.6%
* Dollar drops to near seven-week low
* Spot gold may slide into $1,744-$1,758/oz range -
technicals

(Recasts, adds chart, and updates prices)
By Brijesh Patel
April 20 (Reuters) - Gold prices inched lower on Tuesday
after hitting a seven-week high in the previous session, as a
rebound in U.S. Treasury yields eclipsed support from a weaker
dollar.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.1% at $1,768.01 per ounce by
0711 GMT, after hitting $1,789.77 on Monday, its highest since
Feb. 25.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 eased 0.1% to $1,769 per ounce.
"Gold came off Monday's high against a backdrop of rising
yields. But the rise in yields didn't echo into the dollar. The
greenback's soggy performance is supportive for gold," said
DailyFX currency strategist Ilya Spivak.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields US10YT=RR elevated
above 1.6% after hitting a five-week low last week, increasing
the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. US/
U.S. President Joe Biden met on with a bipartisan group of
lawmakers who have all served as governors or mayors, as the
White House seeks a deal on his over $2 trillion jobs and
infrastructure proposal. Gold is seen as a hedge against inflation that could follow
stimulus measures, but higher Treasury yields have dulled some
of the appeal of the non-yielding commodity this year.
"As it comes to inflation, the more inflation we get and the
less the Federal Reserve is able to ignore that, the worst for
gold it is... Technically, gold's trend is still pointing
lower," DailyFX's Spivak said.
Although the U.S. central bank has reiterated its stance to
keep monetary policy accommodative some time, Fed officials have
said any spike in inflation is likely to be temporary.
Offering some respite to bullion, the dollar index .DXY
weakened to a near seven-week low against its rivals, making
gold less expensive for holders of other currencies. USD/
Spot gold may slide more into a range of $1,744 to $1,758
per ounce, following its failure to break a resistance at
$1,785, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
TECH/C
Silver XAG= gained 0.3% to $25.88 per ounce, palladium
XPD= dropped 0.3% to $2,803.69 and platinum XPT= was steady
at $1,205.20.

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