By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Gold was down on Wednesday morning in Asia against continued gains in both the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield and dollar. Investors also await U.S. inflation data for April later in the day.
Gold futures were down 0.39% to $1,828.85 by 12:17 PM ET (4:17 AM GMT).
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield jumped to more than a one-week high. The dollar, which normally moves inversely to gold, inched up on Wednesday but trading near the lowest levels of 2021.
The U.S. consumer price index report, including the core consumer price index (CPI), will be released later in the day. Investors on the lookout for the further implications that the data, along with U.S. government debt sales, will have on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s dovish stance on inflation.
Fed officials continued to be optimistic about the country's progress towards economic recovery from COVID-19, but warned that the road ahead remains long, which was highlighted by the disappointing employment data, including non-farm payrolls, for April released during the previous week.
Across the Atlantic, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey is due to speak later Wednesday.
However, Tuesday’s U.S. JOLTs job openings rose to a record 8.123 million in March, indicating that a shortage of workers is hindering job growth. However, nearly 10 million Americans are still looking for a job.
In Asia, unemployment in South Korea dropped to 3.7%, an eight-month low, in April, according to data released earlier in the day. The number of people employed also rose at the highest pace in nearly seven years as the country continues its economic recovery from COVID-19.
In other precious metals, palladium edged up 0.2%, while silver slid 0.6% and platinum fell 0.5%.