By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Gold was down on Wednesday morning in Asia, with the continuing its retreat from a 20-year high and countering pressure from stronger Treasury yields. Investors also listened carefully to Jerome Powell, the Chairman of U.S. Federal Reserve.

By 12:48 PM ET (4:48 GMT), they were down 0.5% to $1,808.24 On Wednesday, the dollar, which moves in inverse proportion to gold, rose slightly but continued its fall into Thursday. Investors’ increased appetites for riskier bets also took the edge off the safe-haven greenback’s appeal.

After their dramatic increase in the last session, however, the yields of the U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury note have stabilised.

Powell promised Tuesday that the U.S. central banks would increase interest rates as necessary to reduce skyrocketing inflation. He said that this threatened the foundations of the economy. The Fed has hiked its interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point in 2022 to date and is on track to hike it again in half-percentage-point increments at its next two meetings in June and July 2022.

Patrick Harker, Philadelphia Fed president, will speak. A meeting of central bankers from the G-7 will also take place later that day.

In Asia Pacific, Japan’s GDP contracted 1% and 0.2% in the first quarter of 2022, while Australia’s wage price index grew 2.4% and 0.7% .

Investor sentiment was buoyed by strong U.S. performance and April, which saw consumers buying motor vehicles and dining out regularly, but showing no sign of slowing down despite the high inflation.

Other precious metals saw a 0.2% increase, with 0.1% increasing.