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Gold inched lower in choppy trading on Monday, as a buoyant dollar offset a slump in Treasury yields to their lowest levels since February.

· Spot gold shed 0.2% to $1,807.59 per ounce by 11:06 a.m. EDT (1806 GMT).

· U.S. gold futures settled 0.3% lower at $1,809.20.

· “Gold is caught in a tug-of-war between a rising dollar that weighs down on the precious metal and a drop in risk appetite, which supports its price,” said Ricardo Evangelista, a senior analyst at ActivTrades.

· The dollar index hit a more than three-month high, making gold more expensive for other currency holders, and countering the sharp fall in U.S. benchmark Treasury yields.

· Jeffrey Christian, managing partner at CPM Group, also attributed gold’s recent declines to seasonal weakness in investment and jewellery demand.

“A lot of investors are looking at gold and saying gold spiked to a record high in early August last year and it hasn’t come close to regaining the high since then, so there is what we call stale bull liquidation.”

· Sentiment in riskier markets was bruised by investors’ fears over a relentless surge in coronavirus cases, which forced many Asian countries into imposing lockdowns, and growing inflationary pressures.

· Reflective of sentiment, holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange traded fund (ETF), New York’s SPDR Gold Trust dropped to a two-month trough on Friday.

· “Stagflation could become a really interesting element if we keep seeing slowing economic growth coupled with some inflationary fears,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst with Kitco Metals.

“Theoretically, stagflation should be bullish for gold because you’ve got rising inflation, which suggests investors are going to look at hard assets including gold and slowing economic growth, which might put in a safe-haven bid.”

· Silver retreated 2.3% to $25.07 after hitting its lowest since April 13 at $24.96.

· Platinum shed 3% to $1,069.49 and palladium fell 1.4% to $2,593.00.

· Biden’s inflation speech reflects concerns that rising prices will hurt Democrats in 2022

As consumer prices rise across wide swaths of the U.S. economy, President Joe Biden has a message for voters: If you’re worried about inflation, you should support Biden’s infrastructure and domestic spending plans.

“My ‘Build Back Better’ plan will be a force for achieving lower prices for Americans looking ahead,” Biden said in a speech Monday at the White House.

Biden argued the infrastructure and family support investments contained in his $4.5 trillion domestic spending plan will fund decades of economic growth, increase the workforce and keep prices low.

· Yellen urges quick U.S. adoption of stablecoin rules

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told regulators Monday that the U.S. government must move quickly to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins, a rapidly growing class of digital currencies.

A group of U.S. regulators plans to issue recommendations in the coming months for fixing any regulatory gaps around stablecoins, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

· Bitcoin posts outflow for 2nd straight week -CoinShares data

· U.S. homebuilder confidence falls to 11-month low in July

· U.S. and allies accuse China of global hacking spree

· New BoE rate-setter Mann warns against early end to stimulus

The Bank of England should not cut back on stimulus too early, a top economist who will soon join the BoE’s rate-setting committee said on Monday, underscoring a divide among UK policymakers about how to respond to rising inflation.

· Japan's core inflation hits 15-month high on energy costs

· CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:

· Covid cases have rebounded in the U.S. this month, with the delta variant spreading among the unvaccinated. The U.S. is averaging nearly 26,000 new cases a day in the last seven days through Sunday, up from a seven-day average of around 11,000 cases a day a month ago, according to CDC data. Cases were already flaring up around the world because of the delta variant.

· Rising coronavirus cases fuel resurgence fears as Biden ramps up vaccination push

Swiftly rising coronavirus cases across the United States and abroad fueled fears of a pandemic resurgence on Monday and sent shockwaves through stock markets as the highly contagious Delta variant appeared to be taking hold.

Many of the new outbreaks were in parts of the country where COVID-19 vaccinations have lagged, prompting political leaders to ramp up pressure on reluctant Americans to get the inoculations.

President Joe Biden, citing higher rates of COVID-19 in states with low vaccination rates, said during a speech that the nation's economic recovery hinged on getting better at controlling the pandemic.

· England takes leap into the unknown, lifting Covid rules as cases surge

· Thailand COVID-19 Situation as of 19 July, 2021

Reference: CNBC, Reuters, TATNEWS, Worldometers