March 5 (Reuters) - Gold slumped to a near nine-month low on
Friday and headed for a third straight weekly decline after
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell disappointed investors with
his view on rising yields that pushed up the dollar and bond
yields.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= eased 0.2% to $1,693.79 per ounce by 0055
GMT, having earlier dropped to its lowest since June 8 at
$1,688.96. It was down 2.3% for the week so far.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 dropped 0.6% to $1,691.20.
* Powell on Thursday repeated his pledge to keep credit
loose and said although the rise in yields was "notable", he did
not consider it a "disorderly" move. * The U.S. 10-year yield topped 1.5%, while the dollar
surged to three-month highs. Higher yields increase the
opportunity cost of holding bullion, which pays no
interest. USD/ US/
* U.S. jobless claims rose last week after brutal winter
storms in mid-February. * The amount of gold held by exchange traded funds fell by
84.7 tonnes worth $4.6 billion in February, the World Gold
Council (WGC) said. * CME Group Inc CME.O decreased margins for COMEX 100 Gold
Futures contracts by 9.1%. * Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust GLD fell 0.4% on
Thursday. GOL/ETF
* Silver XAG= rose 0.2% to $25.35 an ounce, but was down
5% for the week so far, its worst since late-November.
* Palladium XPD= climbed 0.2% to $2,343.55. Platinum
XPT= shed 1.2% to $1,113.02.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 Germany Industrial Orders MM Jan
0745 France Reserve Assets Total Feb
0830 UK Halifax House Prices MM Feb
1330 US Non-Farm Payrolls Feb
1330 US Unemployment Rate Feb
1330 US Average Earnings YY Feb
1330 US International Trade Jan
2000 US Federal Reserve issues Consumer Credit for
January