Feb 18 (Reuters) - Gold prices inched up on Thursday,
recovering from a more than two-month low hit in the previous
session as U.S. Treasury yields retreated, although a stronger
dollar kept bullion's gains in check.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was up 0.1% at $1,777.06 per ounce by
0012 GMT, having dropped to its lowest since Nov. 30 at
$1,768.60 on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures GCv1 rose 0.3% to
$1,777.40.
* Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields retreated from near
one-year peak on Wednesday. Higher yields increase the
opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding bullion. US/
* The dollar .DXY climbed to a more than one week peak on
Wednesday against rivals, making gold expensive for holders of
other currencies. USD/
* U.S. retail sales rebounded sharply in January and
manufacturing activity rose, while U.S. producer prices
increased by the most since 2009, suggesting inflation was
starting to creep up. * Gold is often viewed as a hedge against inflation.
* Federal Reserve officials last month debated how to lay
the groundwork for the public to accept higher inflation,
minutes of the U.S. central bank's Jan. 26 to 27 policy meeting
showed.
* U.S. President Joe Biden told 10 top union leaders on
Wednesday that his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan and a
separate measure to modernize U.S. infrastructure would boost
the U.S. economy and create millions of jobs. * A laboratory study suggests that the South African variant
of the coronavirus may reduce antibody protection from the
Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE vaccine by two-thirds, and it is not
clear if the shot will be effective against the
mutation. * Silver XAG= eased 0.1% to $27.33 an ounce. Platinum
XPT= gained 1.4% to $1,271.15 and palladium XPD= added 0.2%
to $2,376.76.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1330 US Housing Starts Number Jan
1330 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly
1330 US Philly Fed Business Indx Feb
1500 EU Consumer Confid. Flash Feb