PRECIOUS-Gold edges lower on swift economic recovery bets

* Platinum eases after scaling over one-month peak
* Palladium hits a one week low of $2,592/oz

(Adds comment, recasts, updates prices)
By Shreyansi Singh
April 7 (Reuters) - Gold prices fell on Wednesday a day
after hitting a more than one-week peak, as strong economic data
from the United States bolstered hopes of a swift recovery
dimming the precious metal's appeal.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.4% to $1,737.01 per ounce by 3:14
p.m. EDT (1914 GMT). U.S. gold futures GCv1 settled 0.1% lower
at $1,741.6.
"If we get continued strength in economic reports I think we
are going to see much greater likelihood of interest rates
increasing ... yields increasing. That ultimately is going to
have negative impact on gold," said Jeffrey Sica, founder of
Circle Squared Alternative Investments.
Non-yielding bullion is highly sensitive to higher rates, as
they increase the opportunity cost of holding gold. USD/
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. job openings rose to a two-year
high in February, while strengthening domestic demand helped
hiring amid increased COVID-19 vaccinations and additional
pandemic aid from the government. Meanwhile, U.S. Federal Reserve remained cautious about the
continuing risks of the coronavirus pandemic and committed to
pouring on monetary policy support until a rebound was more
secure, minutes of the central bank's March meeting showed.
"There's not much indicative of what they intend to do (with
regards to interest rates) which makes it obvious that for any
real clarity we have to wait and see what happens with economic
news," Sica said.
The International Monetary Fund raised its outlook for
global economic growth again on Tuesday, forecasting worldwide
output would rise 6% this year, a rate not seen since the 1970s.
The S&P 500 added to gains, while the dollar index .DXY
inched up after the Fed released the minutes. USD/ .N
Among other precious metals, silver XAG= fell 0.2% to
$25.12 per ounce. Palladium XPD= was down 2.3% to $2,622.71
per ounce, having earlier hit a one week low of $2,592.
Platinum XPT= fell 0.6% to $1,225.39 per ounce, having
earlier risen to $1,244.50, its highest since Feb. 25.