Trading earlier in the week saw gold prices record a sharp fall after being weighed down by a surge in the US dollar and 10 -year higher US treasury yields.
In the Asian session, the precious metal traded gloomily at $ 1,948 an ounce after declining about 0.50% at the beginning of the session.
Gold has risen nearly 2% in the past week as it is supported by rising commodity prices and the US announcement to block any gold transactions with Russia.
However, due to high bond yields, yellow metal trading was limited. The benchmark 10 -year US bond yields continued to hit a new record at a nearly three -year high by touching the 2.50% level at the end of last week’s trading session.
Meanwhile, the US dollar rose to a more than a week high at the start of the Asian session, making the precious metal more expensive for holders of other major currencies.
In other developments, China's financial hub Shanghai announced a two -stage closure move on Monday. This causes 26 million people to be affected in an effort to curb the Covid-19 surge.
Investors are now focusing on the publication of US ADP and NFP employment data this week which will have a greater impact on the movement of the yellow metal.
