Gold gains after Capitol siege and slow COVID-19 vaccine rollouts

Shafaq News/ Gold rose on Tuesday, rebounding from a near six-week low in the previous session, as stocks slipped on political turmoil in Washington and the slow pace of COVID-19 vaccinations across the world.

Spot gold rose 0.8% at $1,860.10 per ounce. On Monday, prices touched their lowest since December 2. 

U.S. gold futures gained 0.5% to $1,860.

"We are seeing a technical rebound in gold after investors booked some profits in the last two sessions," said Kunal Shah, head of research at Nirmal Bang Commodities in Mumbai.

Asian stocks eased from record highs as Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives barrelled towards impeaching U.S. President Donald Trump in the wake of Capitol siege last week and on rising COVID-19 cases.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yield held at 10-month highs, helping the dollar and making gold expensive.

Higher bond yields increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-interest yielding gold.

Global COVID-19 cases stood at more than 90 million as countries struggle with the pace of vaccinations.

Silver gained 2.2% to $25.47 an ounce. Platinum rose 3.1% to $1,062.83, while palladium climbed 0.2% to $2,376.57.