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Gold edged lower on Friday amid uncertainty over the U.S. Federal Reserve’s tapering timeline that kept most investors on the sidelines, with gains in the dollar this week putting bullion on course to mark its first weekly decline in five.

· Spot gold fell 0.2% to $1,790.37 an ounce by 1:46 p.m. EDT (1746 GMT).

· U.S. gold futures settled 0.4% lower at $1,792.1 an ounce.

· Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities, said a bounce in U.S. yields were preventing speculative funds from convincingly moving into gold.

· The benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose after economic data indicated high inflation could persist for some time. While gold is considered a hedge against inflation, higher yields translate into higher opportunity cost for holding non-interest bearing bullion.

· “The elevated U.S. producer price index data could on margin drive people to believe that the Fed could show slightly less accommodation down the road with tapering,” Melek added.

· Gold investors closely monitor the Fed’s decisions, since non-yielding bullion tends to gain when interest rates are low.

· Many gold market participants are waiting on the sidelines in part due to the uncertainty surrounding the Fed’s tapering timeline, said Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann.

· Silver fell 0.9% to $23.86 per ounce, while platinum dropped 1.9% to $958.51 per ounce, both set for weekly losses.

· Palladium fell 1.7% to $2,142.12 per ounce, and was down about 11% for the week.

· TD Securities’ Melek noted that increasing concerns over automobile manufacturing in China and elsewhere, with announcements from automakers shuttering some production due to chip shortages, have pushed demand for auto-catalysts platinum and palladium lower this week.

· Strained supply chains keep U.S. producer prices hot

U.S. producer prices increased solidly in August, leading to the biggest annual gain in nearly 11 years, suggesting that high inflation is likely to persist for a while as the unrelenting COVID-19 pandemic continues to pressure supply chains.

· House Democrats expected to propose hike to corporate tax rate, surtax on wealthy- report

U.S. House Democrats are expected to propose raising the U.S. corporate tax rate to 26.5% from 21%, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing a congressional aide.

Democrats are also expected to propose a 3% surtax on individual income above $5 million as part of a wide-ranging budget bill. They are also considering raising the minimum tax on U.S. companies’ foreign income to 16.5% from 10.5% and the top capital gains tax rate to 28.8% from 23.8%, the Journal reported.

· U.S. Senate Democrats float stock buyback tax as part of $3.5 trillion bill

Two senior U.S. Senate Democrats on Friday unveiled a proposal to impose a 2% excise tax on corporate stock buybacks as lawmakers scrambled to find ways to finance President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion domestic investment plan.

Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden and Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown said the "Stock Buyback Accountability Act" would encourage large corporations to invest in their workers rather than enriching investorsexecutives by boosting stock prices.

· Sen. Joe Manchin says there’s no way to pass $3.5 trillion budget bill by September 27

Sen. Joe Manchin on Sunday said he would not vote for the $3.5 trillion budget bill, adding that there’s “no way” to meet the September 27 deadline set by Democrats, during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“There’s no way that we can get this done by the 27th if we do our job,” the West Virginia Democrat said.

· U.S. Treasury, financial industry discuss cryptocurrency 'stablecoins'

The U.S. Treasury Department met with a number of industry participants this week to quiz them about the risks and benefits posed by stablecoins -- a rapidly growing type of cryptocurrencies, the value of which is pegged to traditional currencies, according to three people with direct knowledge of the meetings.

· Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester's comments that she would still like the central bank to begin tapering asset purchases this year despite the weak August jobs report.

· Fed to hold public event on pandemic recovery on Sept. 24

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and other Fed policymakers will hold a community discussion on the pandemic recovery on Sept. 24, the central bank said Friday, part of its “Fed Listens” initiative begun in 2019.

· Banks expect London to remain a top financial centre, says survey

London will remain a leading global financial centre despite uncertainty over regulation due to Brexit, Lloyds Bank's annual sentiment survey of financial firms showed on Monday.

· Russian economy grows 10.5% y/y in Q2, its strongest leap since 2000

· N.Korea test-fires long-range cruise missile amid stalled talks with U.S.

North Korea carried out successful tests of a new long-range cruise missile over the weekend, its state media, KCNA, said on Monday, amid a protracted standoff with the United States over denuclearisation.

The missiles flew 1,500 km (930 miles) before hitting their targets and falling into the country's territorial waters during the tests held on Saturday and Sunday, KCNA said.

· IAEA-Iran agreement raises hopes for fresh nuclear talks with U.S.

· U.N. seeks $600 million to avert Afghanistan humanitarian crisis

· Taliban say women can study at university but classes must be segregated

· COVID-19 UPDATES:

Reference: CNBC, Reuters, Worldometers