PRECIOUS-Gold rises as dollar, yields slip; U.S. economic data in focus

* Dollar falls to four-week low
* Gold still trapped in a range trade - analyst
* Palladium, platinum up more than 1%

(Recasts, adds comment, updates prices)
By Diptendu Lahiri
April 15 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose on Thursday boosted by
a weaker dollar and a pullback in U.S. bond yields, while
investors awaited U.S. weekly jobless claims and March retail
sales data for further clarity on recovery in the world's
largest economy.
Spot gold XAU= was up 0.5% at $1,744.60 per ounce by 0807
GMT. U.S. gold futures GCv1 rose 0.6% to $1,745.80 per ounce.
"A weaker dollar after the Fed speech and the central bank's
willingness to tolerate more inflation is keeping gold
supported," said Yingtao Jin, an analyst at StoneX Group.
The dollar .DXY slipped to a four-week low against its
rivals, making gold less expensive for other currency holders.
US/
Meanwhile, benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields held near
a three-week low. Lower bond yields reduce the opportunity cost
of holding non-interest bearing gold. US/
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday
the central bank would cut its monthly bond purchases before
committing to an interest rate hike, clarifying the sequence of
monetary policy adjustments are still months if not years in the
future. "Gold is still trapped in a range trade, until we get above
$1,765 per ounce the range trade holds," said Stephen Innes,
chief global market strategist at financial services firm Axi.
Investors now await the release of U.S. weekly jobless
claims and March retail sales data due later in the day for
further clues on the recovery in the world's largest economy.
"Although gold has lost much of its appeal for investors in
2021 compared to 2020 and the technical picture has deteriorated
in favour of bears rather than gold bulls, deep corrections of
prices are still viewed as buying opportunities," Avtar Sandu,
senior commodities manager at Phillip Futures, said in a note.
Among other precious metals, silver XAG= gained 0.2% to
$25.47 and palladium XPD= was up 1.7% at $2,721.96. Platinum
XPT= rose 1.1% to $1,182.97.