2021.03.2409:38:00UTC+00Gold Gains As Yields Drop

Gold prices inched higher on Wednesday as U.S. Treasury yields continued to ease from recent highs on coronavirus-related worries.

Spot gold edged up 0.3 percent to $1,731.91 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.3 percent at $1,731.05.

U.S. Treasury yields were poised for a third day of declines and Germany's benchmark 10-year bond yield fell to a five-week low on doubts about the progress of the global economic reopening.

A jump in Covid-19 cases across Europe as well as concerns over the slow pace of vaccinations dented hopes of a broad economic recovery.

Germany, France and Italy have expanded virus-related curbs amid a third wave of infections. The head of the World Health Organization said recent increases in deaths and cases represent "truly worrying trends."

Investors await a second day of testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen later in the day.

In the first joint appearance Tuesday, both Yellen and Powell sounded optimistic about growth but emphasized that the U.S. recovery from the pandemic is far from complete. Powell reassured markets that inflation would not spiral out of control.