London — Gold slid back towards its low for the year on Thursday as another rise in US bond yields and concerns over political risk in Italy held the dollar index near its 2018 peak. Gold has fallen more than 2% this week on gains in the US currency and a rise in US 10-year treasury yields to seven-year highs. Higher yields increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,288.96 an ounce by 9.30am GMT, close to the previous day’s four-and-a-half-month low of $1,286.20. US gold futures for June delivery were down $3.40 at $1,288.10. The dollar has climbed nearly 4% so far this quarter on expectations that the US Federal Reserve will lift US interest rates further this year to curb inflation, at a time when other central banks are still keeping monetary policy loose. "I expect further weakness in gold prices because I think the dollar can rise a bit further," said ABN Amro analyst Georgette Boele. "Gold prices are mainly drive...
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