Title: Gold Down, but Higher Treasury Yields Counter COVID-19 Worries

Jan 02, 2022 11:22PM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

Gold was lower in Asia on Monday morning, but higher US government bond yields supported the safe haven amid concerns about rising COVID-19 cases. Trading also remained thin as major Asia-Pacific markets, including China, Japan, and Australia, were closed for the holiday.

Gold futures eased 0.11 percent to $1,826.25 an ounce by 11:20 PM ET (4:20 AM GMT) after hitting a more than one-month high of $1,831.49 an ounce during the session. US 10-year government bonds ended 2021 with their biggest rise in yields since 2013.

US stocks also closed near record highs in thin trading on December 31, ending a second year of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, rising COVID-19 cases are also on investors' radar, with an average of more than one million cases detected per day between December 24 and December 30, according to Reuters. With the rising number of cases and bad weather, more than 4,000 flights were cancelled worldwide on Sunday, more than half of them in the US.

In the Asia-Pacific region, gold discounts in India rose to their highest in five months last week, reflecting COVID-19-related restrictions and consumer reluctance to buy in key Asian countries ahead of the year-end holidays.

Shares in Hong Kong's China Evergrande Group were suspended from trading earlier in the day. The debt-laden construction company gave no reason for the suspension.

In other precious metals, silver slipped 0.2%, while platinum rose 0.8% and palladium 0.6%.