March 4 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged up on Thursday to
recover from a near nine-month low hit in the previous session,
although higher U.S. Treasury yields continued to weigh on the
non-yielding bullion's appeal.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was up 0.2% at $1,714.27 per ounce by
0051 GMT, having dropped to their lowest since June 9 at
$1,701.40 on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures GCv1 dipped 0.2% to
$1,712.80.
* Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields held near 1.5%, increasing
the opportunity cost of holding bullion, which pays no
returns. US/
* The U.S. economic recovery continued at a modest pace over
the first weeks of this year, the Federal Reserve reported on
Wednesday. * Chicago Fed President Charles Evans on Wednesday said he
sees the recent rapid rise in bond yields as mostly reflecting
improvements in the economy. * U.S. private payrolls increased less than expected in
February, suggesting the labor market was continuing to
struggle. * The U.S. Senate delayed the start of debate on a $1.9
trillion COVID-19 relief bill until at least Thursday.
* Investors now await Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech
before a virtual Wall Street Journal Jobs Summit at 1705 GMT,
for clues on the outlook of the central bank's monetary policy.
* Perth Mint's gold sales surged in February to their
highest in at least nine years, while silver sales also jumped,
the refiner said in a blog post on Wednesday. * Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust GLD fell 0.4% to
1,082.38 tonnes on Wednesday. GOL/ETF
* Silver XAG= rose 0.4% to $26.18 an ounce, while
palladium XPD= eased 0.3% at $2,347.52. Platinum XPT= shed
0.5% to $1,161.50.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1000 EU Unemployment Rate Jan
1330 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly
1500 US Factory Orders MM Jan
1705 US Fed Chair Jerome Powell participates in
conversation on the U.S. economy before virtual Wall Street
Journal Jobs Summit