Gold futures lost ground early Friday and were headed for a weekly loss as Treasury yields jumped to kick off April and the second quarter.
Gold for June delivery
GC00,
GCM22,
fell $24.50, or 1.3%, to $1,929.50 an ounce on Comex. May silver
SIK22,
fell 36.3 cents, or 1.4%, to $24.77 an ounce. Gold is on track for a 1.2% weekly decline, while silver is off more than 3%.
Gold and silver both logged weekly and quarterly gains Thursday, boosted in part by safe-haven demand tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Treasurys were under renewed pressure on Friday, with the yield on the 10-year note
TMUBMUSD10Y,
rising around 8 basis points to trade above 2.40%. Yields and debt prices move opposite each other. Rising Treasury yields can be a negative for gold as they raise the opportunity cost of holding nonyielding assets.
The Russia-Ukraine war “has provided solid support to gold and other safe-haven assets, so any signs of progress on peace talks are likely to see some of that support fade,” said Rupert Rowling, market analyst at Kinesis, in a note.
“Furthermore, the inflation headache that is troubling governments and central banks is not going to ease any time soon, with more interest rate hikes expected in April to try and curb rising prices,” he wrote. “These dual headwinds of an unwinding of fear trading and the prospect of rising interest rates making the non-yield bearing asset of gold less attractive,” leaving the $1,900 level as a key indicator of underlying support for gold.