FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was up 0.1% at $2,340.09 an ounce by 0051 GMT, after hitting a record high of $2,353.79 on Monday.
* US gold futures edged up 0.3% to $2,358.80 an ounce.
* U.S. CPI data and minutes of the Fed’s March policy meeting are due Wednesday, which could help gauge the timing of widely anticipated rate cuts.
* Americans’ inflation outlook was mixed last month, amid expectations for greater price rises on a range of key goods and services, according to a report from the New York Fed Bank.
* Futures traders reduced their bets on the extent to which the Fed would cut rates this year to the lowest level since October, LSEG data showed Monday. * Higher interest rates reduce the attractiveness of holding gold without yield. * China’s central bank added 160,000 troy ounces of gold to its reserves in March, it said, in line with the market view that persistent demand from the official sector had supported the recent rise in the gold.
* The Shanghai Gold Exchange will increase the margin requirement for some silver futures contracts from 10% to 12% effective for settlement on April 9.
* India’s silver imports jumped 260% in February to a record high as lower tariffs encouraged big purchases from the United Arab Emirates.
* The global stock index rose slightly on Monday while stocks on Wall Street were lower as U.S. bond yields rose to their highest levels since late November and investor optimism over the prospects of lower bond rates the Fed has eased.
* Spot silver was steady at $27.85 an ounce, platinum rose 0.9% to $966.71 and palladium gained 0.8% to $1,050.76.
