PRECIOUS-Gold off 7-month low as dollar weakness outweighs firmer yields

* Benchmark Treasury yields hit highest in nearly a year
* Bitcoin scales record high on Sunday
* Markets await Powell testimony to Congress on Tuesday

(Adds analyst comment, updates prices)
By Sumita Layek
Feb 22 (Reuters) - Gold prices gained on Monday after
hitting a more than seven-month low in the previous session, as
support from a weaker dollar eclipsed pressure from firmer
Treasury yields.
Spot gold XAU= rose 0.5% to $1,791.50 per ounce by 0733
GMT, having touched its lowest since July 2 at $1,759.29 on
Friday. U.S. gold futures GCv1 gained 0.6% to $1,787.70.
"The dollar coming off is helping to negate the rise in
yields," Howie Lee, an economist at OCBC Bank said, adding "gold
is in a weird place... while there's clearly a need for
inflation hedging, firming risk sentiment has pressured gold".
The dollar was sold to multi-year lows against sterling and
rival currencies on Monday, but benchmark U.S. Treasury yields
hit a near one-year high, increasing the opportunity cost of
holding non-yielding bullion. USD/ US/
Apart from the $1.9 trillion U.S. COVID-19 aid that is
expected to pass by the end of the week, investors await Federal
Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's testimony on the Semiannual
Monetary Report to Congress starting Tuesday.
"The rise in yields will be the major headwind for gold for
now, but if Powell hints at any dovishness or implies that
current yields are too high for sustained economic recovery...
then we can see gold embark on a rally again," Lee said.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin BTC=BTSP hit a record high on
Sunday. "The recovery by gold remains unconvincing and its technical
picture remains grim. For now, the crypto market appears to have
temporarily taken over the mantle of inflation hedge," OANDA
senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said in a note.
A lower dollar can help stabilize gold prices at this stage
but not turn the overall direction, Halley added.
Silver XAG= gained 0.6% to $27.38 an ounce, while platinum
XPT= rose 0.2% to $1,276.92.
Palladium XPD= climbed 1% to $2,403.08, having earlier hit
an over one-month high at $2,431.50.