PRECIOUS-Gold slips as sturdy dollar and shares dent appeal

* Price range of $1,760-$1,765 a key hurdle for gold
-analyst
* Economic upturn likely to pressure gold price
* Dollar clings to three-week highs, Wall Street opens
higher

(Recasts, adds quotes, updates prices)
By Brijesh Patel
March 1 (Reuters) - Gold prices gave up gains of 1% on
Monday as a stronger dollar and increased risk appetite among
investors eclipsed support from a retreat in U.S. Treasury
yields.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.6% at $1,723.30 an ounce by
02:02 p.m. ET (1902 GMT) and U.S. gold futures GCv1 settled
0.3% down at $1,723.
"Vision of economic recovery, the dollar rebounding off
recent lows, equity markets doing well ... in this environment
there's been a bit of a lesser demand for gold," said David
Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
"But on the other side of that coin, we are seeing an
additional $1.9 trillion stimulus being injected into the
economy and we could potentially see an inflationary environment
down the road, in which gold has a tendency to fare quite well."
The dollar index .DXY jumped to a three-week high, while
optimism over the economic stimulus and promising updates on
COVID-19 vaccines lifted risk sentiment in wider financial
markets. USD/ .N
The U.S. House of Representatives approved President Joe
Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill early on Saturday,
sending it to the Senate for consideration. Although gold may be supported by the stimulus in the medium
term, gold will face some "headwinds", said StoneX analyst Rhona
O'Connell.
While gold is considered a hedge against inflation, recent
higher bond yields have threatened that status because they
translate into a higher opportunity cost of holding bullion,
which pays no return. US/
Offering some respite to gold, benchmark 10-year U.S.
Treasury yields eased from a one-year high. US/
On the technical front, the psychological $1,700 level is
very significant, while the $1,760-$1,765 range is an important
hurdle for gold to rise further, said Stephen Innes, chief
global market strategist at financial services firm Axi.
In other precious metals, silver XAG= slipped 0.5% to
$26.50 an ounce, palladium XPD= climbed 1.6% to $2,354.40 and
platinum XPT= was steady at $1,188.30.

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