Gold holds ground as easing Treasury yields lift appeal

Gold prices held steady on Tuesday backed by lower U.S. Treasury yields, after touching a record high in the previous session on growing expectations that the Reserve would cut interest rates for the first time in June.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was unchanged at $2,250.26 per ounce, as of 0059 GMT, after hitting an all-time high of $2,265.49 on Monday.

* U.S. gold futures edged 0.6% higher to $2,270.70 per ounce.

* Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields dipped, lifting the appeal of zero-yield gold.

* U.S. manufacturing grew for the first time in 1-1/2 years in March, as production rebounded sharply and new orders increased, but employment at factories remained subdued and prices for inputs pushed higher. * The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Monday that underlying inflation pressures weakened in February. * Factory activity in many Asian economies weakened in March but there were some brighter signs in China and South Korea, surveys and data showed.

* Australia’s central bank intends to change the way it provides liquidity to the banking system, moving to one that provides ample liquidity through regular money market operations.

* Traders are pricing in a 57% probability that the Fed will begin cutting rates in June, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding bullion.

* Spot silver rose 0.4% to $25.17 per ounce, platinum rose 0.2% to $903.50 and palladium gained 0.4% to $1,000.09.