Gold, Silver Price Today: Yellow metal edges higher as WHO categorises Omicron as not 'mild'

Gold inched up on Friday, hovering close to a two-week low hit in the previous session after the chief of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the Omicron variant cannot be considered `mild`, while stronger yields capped bullion`s gains.

FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was up 0.2% to $1,791.73 per ounce by 0100 GMT. U.S. gold futures GCv1 was up 0.1% to $1,791.70.

* The precious metal was all set for its worst weekly fall since late November, down about 2%.

* The more infectious Omicron variant of COVID-19 appears to produce less severe disease than the globally dominant Delta strain, but it should not be categorised as "mild", World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Thursday. (Full Story)

* Alarmed by the persistence of uncomfortably high inflation, even the most dovish of U.S. central bankers now agree that they will need to tighten policy this year. (Full Story)

* Traders are currently anticipating a greater than 70% chance for a rate hike of at least 25 basis points at the March Fed meeting, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

* Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose to its strongest level since March 2021, while 10-year TIPS yields hit highest since June 2021. Higher yields raise the opportunity cost of holding gold. US/

* Gold is considered as a hedge against higher inflation, but the metal is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates which increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

* Spot silver XAG= was flat at $22.16 an ounce, platinum XPT= rose 0.2% to $966.85, and palladium XPD= inched up 0.1% to $1,875.78.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 UK Halifax House Prices MM Dec
0700 Germany Industrial Output MM Nov
0745 France Reserve Assets Total Dec
1000 EU HICP Flash YY Dec
1000 EU HICP-X F&E Flash YY Dec
1000 EU Consumer Confid. Final Dec
1330 US Non-Farm Payrolls Dec
1330 US Unemployment Rate Dec
1330 US Average Earnings YY Dec