By Zhang Mengying
Investing.com – Gold was down on Wednesday morning in Asia, supported by recession concerns as U.S. 10-year Treasury yields eased.
Gold futures inched up 0.04% to $1,821.95 by 12:28 AM ET (4:28 AM GMT). The dollar, which normally moves inversely to gold, inched down on Wednesday morning.
Bullion was caught between pressure from prospects of higher interest rates and support from recession risks.
New York Fed President John Williams and San Francisco’s Mary Daly said that they had to cool inflation but insisted that a soft landing was still possible. Higher interest rates and bond yields would dent bullion demand as it yields no interest.
Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields eased, providing some support to gold.
The U.S. banned new imports of Russian gold, acting on commitments made by the Group of Seven leaders this week to further punish Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. conference board (CB) consumer confidence fell to a 16-month low in June as high inflation left consumers to worry about a slowing economy.
In Asia Pacific, China took a surprise move Tuesday to cut quarantine times for inbound travelers to seven days from 14 days in centralized quarantine facilities. The step lifted market hopes of China’s shift to another COVID-19 strategy which could cost less economic damage.
In other precious metals, silver fell 0.38%. Platinum gained 0.78% while palladium climbed 2.19%.