Gold prices tick lower on dollar strength

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Gold inched down on Wednesday in

range-bound trading, as sustained strength in the dollar kept

investors away from greenback-priced bullion.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,818.74 per ounce by

0105 GMT. U.S. gold futures also eased 0.1% to $1,820.30.

* The U.S. dollar was steady after sharp gains on

Tuesday, making gold less attractive for buyers holding other

currencies.

* Gold prices were hemmed into a tight range in the previous

session as investors were caught between pressure from prospects

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of higher interest rates and support from recession risks.

* U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers promised further rapid

interest-rate hikes to bring down high inflation on Tuesday, but

pushed back against growing fears among investors and economists

that sharply higher borrowing costs will trigger a steep

downturn.

* Although gold is seen as an inflation hedge, higher

interest rates and bond yields raise the opportunity cost of

holding bullion, which yields no interest.

* Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields eased, providing

some support to gold.

* The United States imposed sanctions on more than 100

targets and banned new imports of Russian gold, acting on

commitments made by the Group of Seven leaders this week to

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further punish Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

* U.S. consumer confidence dropped to a 16-month low in

June, as worries about high inflation left consumers to

anticipate that the economy would slow significantly or even

slide into recession in the second half of the year.

* Spot silver dipped 0.3% to $20.78 per ounce, while

platinum rose 0.6% to $915.72, and palladium

gained 0.8% to $1,889.46.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0130 Australia Retail Sales MM Final May

0900 EU Consumer Confid. Final June

1200 Germany CPI Prelim YY June

1200 Germany HICP Prelim YY June

1230 US GDP Final Q1

(Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; Editing by

Rashmi Aich)