- Dollar was up 0.2% against rival currencies
- Several Fed officials scheduled to speak later in the day
- U.S. PCE data due on Friday
Feb 27 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Thursday, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar and rising Treasury yields, while investors awaited a key inflation report to assess the Federal Reserve's policy path.
Spot gold fell 0.6% to $2,897.91 an ounce by 0645 GMT.
U.S. gold futures also lost 0.7% to $2,909.30.
The dollar index rose 0.2% to move further from the recent 11-week lows after vague pledges from U.S. President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on Europe and further delays to levies planned for Canada and Mexico.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields rebounded, reducing the appeal of non-yielding gold.
"A light pickup in the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields seen to be pressuring gold a bit in this session," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive, adding that the overall uptrend for gold is broadly intact.
Several Fed officials are due to speak later in the day, offering more insights into the central bank's policy easing this year.
Markets will next look to the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, due on Friday.
The consensus forecast was for a PCE monthly index of 0.3%, unchanged from December 2024, according to a Reuters poll.
"The markets are sensitive to growth concerns at the moment after dismal U.S. PMI data last week, and any stronger-than-expected PCE outcomes that point away from Fed rate cuts in the near term might hurt gold," Spivak added.
Bullion is considered a safeguard against political risks and inflation, but higher interest rates dampen the non-yielding asset's appeal.
Meanwhile, Russian and U.S. diplomats will meet in Istanbul for talks aimed at restoring their respective diplomatic missions, seen as a step towards ending the war in Ukraine.
Spot silver retreated 0.2% to $31.77 an ounce, platinum fell 0.1% to $964.70 and palladium was steady at $926.47.
Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona, Rashmi Aich and Sumana Nandy
Source: Reuters