FX.co ★ Gold Futures Pare Early Losses, Settle Slightly Up

Despite a strong dollar and higher Treasury yields, Gold prices cut losses and settled slightly up on Wednesday as weak equity markets triggered some buying in the safe-haven commodity.

Gold prices fell early on in the session as the dollar surged higher and Treasury yields moved up on concerns over soaring inflation and amid prospects of aggressive monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve.

However, the bullion regained most of the lost ground as the day progressed, as a sell-off in stock markets triggered some safe-haven buying.

The dollar index surged to 102.73, gaining nearly 1%, before easing slightly to around 102.60. The yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury note surged to 2.94%.

Gold futures for August ended higher by $0.30 at $1,848.70 an ounce, recovering from a low of $1,830.20.

Silver futures for July ended up by $0.227 at $21.915 an ounce, while Copper futures for July settled at $4.3285 per pound, gaining $0.0325.

Data released by the Labor Department showed job openings tumbled by 455,000 to 11.4 million in April.

A report from the Institute for Supply Management showed U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly expanded at a slightly faster rate in the month of May.

The ISM said its manufacturing PMI inched up to 56.1 in May from 55.4 in April, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. The uptick surprised economists, who had expected the index to dip to 54.5.