Gold Futures Dropped 0.19% by 10:41 PM ET

Gold declined on Wednesday morning in Asia, with falling U.S. Treasury yields countering the impact from slightly improved risk sentiment, and giving the gold a boost.

Gold futures dropped 0.19% to $1,807.45 by 10:41 PM ET and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields edged lower.

Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Wednesday as investors analyzed the impact of Covid’s new variant.

 Mainland stocks declined on Wednesday. The Shanghai composite fell 0.91% to end its trading day at 3,597. The Shenzhen component dropped 1.24% to 14,653.82.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell about 1%, as of its final hour of trading.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 0.56% to close at 28,906.88. The Topix index fell 0.3% to 1,998.99. 

South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.89% to end its trading day at 2,993.29.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 1.21% to 7,509.80. Moreover, the Straits Times index in Singapore also advanced 0.34% in afternoon trade.

Gold and the omicron variant

For its part, the yellow metal continued on a downward trend over increasing evidence that Covid’s new variant does not pose a major threat to the global economy and investors retreated from gold.

Nevertheless, daily Covid-19 cases surpassed 1 million for a second consecutive day with the pressure mounting on healthcare systems. 

The yellow metal is set for its first annual loss in three years, after hitting an all-time high in 2020 with central banks beginning to withdraw Covid-19 stimulus packages to reduce rising inflation. Moreover, concerns regarding the threat to economic activity are beginning to die down. With volumes thin on Wednesday, investors expect this trend to continue and a tight range throughout the remaining trading days of the year.

Apart from gold, silver also fell on Wednesday morning. It dropped 0.1%, platinum fell 0.7% and palladium declined 1.5%.