By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Gold was up on Monday morning in Asia, with muted dollar giving the yellow metal a shine on the first trading day of May. Investors also await further U.S. economic data later in the week.
Gold futures were up 0.36% to $1,774 by 12:10 PM ET (4:10 AM GMT). The dollar, which usually moves inversely to gold, inched up on Monday.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday said the government spending into President Joe Biden’s plans for infrastructure, jobs and families will be phased in over a decade, thus allaying investor concerns over inflation.
U.S. consumer spending rebounded in March as households received additional COVID-19 relief money from the government. Investors now await more U.S. economic data, including the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index and April non-farm payrolls, during the week.
Meanwhile, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan on Friday suggested reducing central bank support for the economy over concerns of imbalances in financial markets, compared to the Fed’s current dovish stance.
Investors also await policy decisions from central banks in Australia, the U.K. and Norway throughout the week.
In Asia, the physical gold was sold at a discount last week in India due to the surging COVID-19 cases which led to strict restrictions and kept investors away. India’s daily number of COVID-19 cases surpassed 400,000 on Sunday before coming back down to 392,488 the following day, according to its Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
However, gold consumption in China jumped 93.9% in the first quarter of 2021 year-over-year, said the China Gold Association on Friday.
Meanwhile, Asian markets had a slow start on Monday due to the closure of the two major markets of China and Japan for a holiday.
In other precious metals, silver was steady at $25.90 per ounce, platinum edged up 0.3%, while palladium held firm after surpassing $3,000per ounce due to supply shortage in the previous session.