Gold steadies after hitting three-week high

Gold prices steadied on Thursday, after hitting a more than three-week high earlier, as an uptick in U.S. bond yields undermined the support from expectations of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve early next year.

Spot gold lost 0.2% to $2,072.79 per ounce by 9:35 a.m. ET (1435 GMT), after earlier rising as high as $2,088.29, the most since Dec. 4, when bullion hit its all-time peak.

U.S. gold futures were down 0.5% to $2,082.60.

“There’s not a lot of trading volume right now in any of the markets so that usually causes smaller moves, especially when we’re approaching a big number like an all-time high,” said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at EverBank.

The dollar index hovered near a five-month low and was heading for a yearly decline. Benchmark 10-year bond yields picked up, but were also close to their lowest levels since July.

The number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, indicating the labor market continues to cool in the year’s fourth quarter.

Investors are betting on an 87% chance of the Fed cutting rates in March, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Lower interest rates decrease the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

“We look for higher gold prices over the next 12 months, with weaker economic data and lower inflation in the U.S. forcing the Fed to cut rates,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

On the physical front, China’s net gold imports via Hong Kong rose by about 37% in November from the previous month, data showed.

Spot silver fell 0.6% to $24.094 per ounce but was poised to end the year about 1% higher.

Platinum gained 0.3% to a more than six-month high of $999.33 while palladium fell 1.2% to $1,139.85.

Both autocatalytic metals were on track to log yearly declines.