PRECIOUS-Gold hovers near 1-week low as hawkish Fed boosts dollar, yields

Shafaq News/ Gold edged higher on Friday, although prices lingered near a one-week low touched in the previous session as the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields reaped the returns of the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance on interest rates.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold XAU= was up 0.2% at $1,923.22 per ounce by 0121 GMT, having logged its biggest daily drop since Sept. 5 on Thursday. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 added 0.2% to $1,943.00.

* The dollar stood near a six-month peak on the prospect of higher-for-longer U.S. rates, while benchmark 10-year Treasury yields rose to 16-year highs and Wall Street tanked in a broad sell-off. USD/US/.N

* Central banks for the world's biggest economies have served notice that they will keep interest rates as high as needed to tame inflation, even as two years of unprecedented global policy tightening reach a peak.

* Higher interest rates discourage the buying of non-interest-paying bullion, which is priced in dollars.

* The Fed's plans for a prolonged period of elevated interest rates could continue pressuring stocks and bonds in coming months, though some investors doubt the central bank will stick to its guns.

* U.S. jobless claims dropped to an eight-month low last week, pointing to persistent labor market tightness even as job growth is cooling.

* U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's attempt to restart his stalled spending agenda failed on Thursday, raising the risk of a government shutdown in just 10 days.

* SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.07% to 878.83 tonnes on Thursday. GOL/ETF

* Spot silver XAG= rose 0.3% to $23.44 per ounce, platinum XPT= gained 0.3% to $921.98 and palladium XPD= steadied at $1,263.04.

(REUTERS)