Gold inched up 0.3% to trade near the $1,800 an ounce level on Monday, as mounting pressures of high inflation and a soft dollar outweighed concerns over rising yields. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell announced the Fed is ready to begin tapering its bond purchases, but maintains that it is premature to raise rates as unemployment remains high. However, Powell acknowledged that inflation is well above the target and may run into next year, prompting markets to hedge with the yellow metal. Meanwhile, the US dollar remains 1% off its October high while the benchmark US bond yield steadied around 1.65% after Friday’s retreat.
