Feb 11 (Reuters) - Gold and silver prices rose on
Wednesday as U.S. Treasury bond yields fell after data showed
December retail sales growth stalled, signalling a softening
economy ahead of key jobs ?data.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold edged 0.3% higher to $5,038.73 ?per ounce
by 0059 GMT.
* U.S. gold futures for April delivery gained 0.6%
to $5,060.60 per ?ounce.
* Spot silver was up 1% at $81.49/oz, after falling
more than ?3% in the previous session.
* U.S. yields fell ?on Tuesday after ?a raft of data suggested
the economy may be softening, giving the U.S. Federal ?Reserve
more cushion to cut interest ?rates.
* Falling yields reduce the cost of holding metals and often
come with macro signals that favour them.
* ?U.S. retail sales were unexpectedly ?unchanged in ?December
as households scaled back spending on motor vehicles and other
big-ticket items, potentially setting consumer spending and the
economy on a ?slower growth path heading into the new year.
* Federal Reserve ?Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack,
however, said on Tuesday that the U.S. central bank faces no
urgency to change the setting of interest rates this year amid a
"cautiously optimistic" outlook for ?economic ?activity.
* Investors expect at least two 25-basis-point rate ?cuts in
2026, with the first one expected in June. Non-yielding bullion
tends ?to do well in low-interest-rate environments.
* Investors await the non-farm payrolls report for January,
due later in the day, and inflation data on Friday for more cues
on the Fed's monetary policy path.
* Indian investors piled into gold exchange-traded funds in
January as prices soared amid rising geopolitical ?risks,
surpassing flows into equity funds for the first time, industry
data showed on Tuesday.
* Spot platinum added 0.6% to $2,098.78 per ounce,
while palladium ?rose 0.2% to $1,712.25.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0130 China PPI, CPI YY January
1330 US Non-Farm ?Payrolls January
1330 US Unemployment Rate January
1330 US Average Earnings YY January
(Reporting by Ishaan Arora; ?Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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