* Fed minutes due at 1800 GMT
* U.S. 10-year Treasury yields at four-month low
* Easing yields open up some headroom for gold – analyst (Recasts, adds comments, updates prices)
July 7 (Reuters) – Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday and were on course for a sixth straight session of gains, driven by a dip in U.S. Treasury yields ahead of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting that could provide more clues on the policy stance.
Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,804.07 per ounce by 0851 GMT, after hitting its highest since June 17 at $1,814.78 on Tuesday.
U.S. gold futures gained 0.6% to $1,805.20 per ounce.
“Unquestionably, the key driver (for gold) is the decline in U.S. Treasury yields,” independent analyst Ross Norman said.
But the recovery in gold prices has been slow and somewhat lacklustre considering the 7% decline in June, when the Fed sent a hawkish signal, Norman said.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hit their lowest in more than four months, reducing the opportunity cost of holding bullion.
Focus at the moment is on minutes from the Fed’s latest meeting, due at 1800 GMT, which could shed more light on the interest rate trajectory after a hawkish tilt by the U.S. central bank last month.
“The FOMC minutes could have a major say on whether spot gold can hold on to the $1,800 handle,” said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity Group.
“Fresh hawkish cues could see spot gold moving back below its 100-day simple moving average (SMA) around $1,790.”
Elsewhere, silver rose 0.6% to $26.30 per ounce, platinum fell 0.2% to $1,089.79, and palladium climbed 1.32% to $2,830.15. (Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
