Gold prices fell on Thursday, to deepen losses for the third straight day, due to rising US bonds yield, which weighs down on the metal and lifts the cost of opportunity in other assets.

Gold prices fell 1% to $1,787.31 an ounce, after opening at $1,805.23, and hit a day high at $1,805.44.

The yellow metal closed lower by 0.1% yesterday, in its second straight daily loss and due to weak safe-haven demand.

The US 10-year Treasury bond yield rose more than 4.5% on Thursday, extending gains for the second straight day and hit a 1-year high of 1.448%.

The bond yield has jumped more than 35% during this month, after the US inflation expectations rose to the highest level in six years, especially after energy prices rallied, in addition to massive stimulus measures, which indicates that the global economy has entered a more solid phase on the road to recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic after the launch of many vaccination campaigns in most parts of the world.

US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stressed during the second part of his semi-annual testimony that employment and inflation rates are still far from the Fed's goals, and interest rates would remain low while and the bonds-buying program will continue.

Gold stocks at the SPDR ETF fell 4.08 metric tonnes yesterday, with the total at the lowest level since May 14, 2020 of 1,132.89 metric tonnes.

Oil prices rose on Thursday, extending gains for the second straight day and hit a 13-month high, following a sharp drop in the US production due to cold weather, in addition to continued supply cuts by OPEC-Plus and Saudi Arabia's voluntary output cut.

US crude rose 0.6% to the highest level since January 2020 at $63.76 a barrel, after opening at $63.38, and hit a low of $63.09, and Brent crude rose more than 0.6% to the highest since January 2020 at $67.68 a barrel, after opening at $67.25, and hit a low of $67.03.

US crude gained 3.7% yesterday, and Brent crude futures rose 3.5%, their second gain in 3 days.

The US Energy Information Administration reported today that the US crude production fell 1.1 million barrels during the week ending February 19, in the largest weekly drop since the week ending August 28, 2020.

The total US oil output fell to 9.7 million barrels per day, the lowest level since August, which came due to the cold weather conditions that recently hit the US, especially Texas.

The US crude inventories rose 1.3 million barrel during the past week, worse than forecasts of a drop by 4.8 million barrels.

The OPEC-Plus alliance will meet on March 4, to discuss the latest developments in the market, and to decide April's production levels.

Reuters quoted sources in OPEC-Plus that the group will discuss a slight easing of the supply cuts starting from April after the recent prices hike, but the sources added that this step might get delayed following the latest setbacks in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.

With OPEC-Plus compliance to their production cuts, and the Saudi voluntary cut during February and March, have boosted prices and lowered global supply.

Asian stock indices opened the fourth session of the week mostly higher in tandem with Wall Street after Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Congressional testimony, where he asserted the Fed is carrying on its monetary easing program. 

Japanese, Australian, Hong Kong, and South Korean stocks gained ground today, while New Zealand stocks declined following disappointing data. 

Japan's TOPEX rose 1.35% to 1,928, while Nikkei 225 climbed 1.65% to 30,160. 

China's CSI 300 rose 1.43% to 5,515, while Shanghai added 1.07% to 3,602. 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 2.06% to 30,330, while South Korea's KOSPI rose 2.80% to 3,078. 

New Zealand's NZX 50 fell 0.79%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.94% to 6,841. 

USD/JPY tilted higher in Asian trade away from February 15 lows, inching closer to September 2020 highs amid a lack of data from Japan and ahead of US data today. 

As of 07:09 GMT, USD/JPY rose 0.04% to 105.91, with a week-high at 106.14. 

From the US, GDP growth is expected at 4.2% in the fourth quarter, up from 4% in the first reading, and compared to a 33.1% rate in the third quarter. 

US durable goods orders are expected up 0.9% in January, compared to a 0.5% rise in December. 

US unemployment claims are estimated down 33 thousand in the week ending February 20 to 828 thousand. 

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is due to speak about the economy at a virtual event hosted by the Greater Naples Chamber.