Gold stumbles as U.S. yields rise, palladium records new high

Gold fell more than 1% on Thursday as U.S. Treasury yields jumped on upbeat U.S. economic data, while a supply deficit lifted palladium to a fresh record peak, setting its sights on the $3,000 mark.

Spot gold fell 0.9% to $1,764.50 per ounce by 10:42 a.m. EDT (1442 GMT), hitting a low since April 15 at $1,755.81.

U.S. gold futures dropped 0.6% to $1,764.20.

"Rising bond yields and upbeat risk appetite is denting the safe haven metal," said Kitco Metals senior analyst Jim Wyckoff.

"We are still in a near term price uptrend on the daily charts. However that price uptrend now is in some jeopardy... If prices can't push above $1,800, let's say in the next week or so, then prices will probably grind back sideways to lower."

Benchmark 10-year note yields rose to a peak since April 13 on U.S. President Joe Biden's proposal of trillions of dollars in new spending and data showing American economic growth accelerated in the first quarter.

Also making gold expensive for holders of other currencies was a rise in the dollar, which was up 0.2%.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq indexes opened at record highs, further dimming the precious metal's appeal.

Auto-catalyst metal palladium scaled a peak of $2,981.99 per ounce, and was last up 0.2% at $2,932.31.

"The supply-demand dynamic remains incredibly positive for palladium... We're looking at another supply deficit again this year," said independent analyst Ross Norman.

"You might find palladium finding $3,000 as something of a challenge technically because there may be some sell orders up at those levels," Norman added.

Platinum fell 2.9% to $1,183.77 per ounce and silver was 1.1% lower at $25.90.