Gold prices rose on Monday, and hit a 2-month while on the cusp of the third daily gain, as the US dollar fell against its peers, after the US T-bond yields fell.

Gold prices rose 0.75% to the highest since February 25 at $1,790.01 an ounce, after opening at $1,776.44, and hit a low of $1,773.09.

Gold closed higher by 0.7% on Friday, in its second straight daily gain, thanks to strong demand.

The yellow metal gained 1.8% last week, and posted the second weekly gain after the latest developments in the US bond market.

The dollar index fell 0.6%, deepening its losses for the second straight day and hit a 7-week low at 91.03 points, which boosts demand for gold and other dollar denominated metals.

10-year US treasury yields fell 1.9% today to 1.552% near a 5-week low of 1.529%, which lifts the market's risk appetite. 

Christopher Waller said on Friday he sees the US economy as "set to take off" as vaccination continues, but the recent rise in inflation is likely to be temporary.

Gold stocks at the SPDR ETF fell 3.2 metric tonnes yesterday, with a total at the lowest level since April 14, 2020 at 1,019.66 metric tonnes.

Oil prices fell on Monday, to head for the second straight daily loss, as profit-taking from a 1-month high continued, amid demand concerns in Asia, after a spike in Covid-19 infections in India, and expectations of a fourth wave in Japan.

US crude fell 0.7% to $62.65, after opening at $63.07, and hit a day high at $63.34, and Brent crude fell 0.7% to $66.20, after opening at $66.68, and hit a day high at $66.94.

US crude lost 0.4% on Friday, and Brent crude futures fell 0.2%, in the first loss out of 5 days on profit-taking from a 1-month high.

However, oil prices gained 6% last week, and posted the largest weekly gain in a month and a half, thanks to positive demand outlook in China and the US.

The Indian health authorities announced 261,500 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, to a total of nearly 14.8 million, second only to the US, and the death toll reached a new daily record of 1,501 victims, to a total of 150,177 victims.

To mitigate these developments, the Indian authorities may resort to tightening the lockdown, which would weigh down on fuel consumption in the third largest oil consumer in Asia.

Reuters reported that many Japanese companies believe that the Japanese economy will suffer a fourth wave of infections, which would deal another blow to businesses in the country.

Baker Hughes revealed on Friday that the US drilling and exploration rigs rose 7 rigs last week, to a total of 344, the highest level since the week ending April 24, 2020.

The increase in the US drilling activity boosted the US production by more than 47% since mid-2016 to a total of 13.1 million barrels per day in March 2020, and held recently around 10.9 million bpd due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the US is still the world's largest oil producer.

Silver prices rose on Friday, as the US dollar fell against most of peers while the US Treasury bond yields retreated.

The preliminary results from the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers, showed that the index rose to 86.5 points in April, slightly lower than forecasts of 88.9 points.

The 10-year US Treasury bond yields fell below 1.6% today, which weighed down on the US dollar.

The dollar index fell against a basket of major currencies by 0.1% to 91.6 points as of 19:53 GMT, after hitting a high of 91.8 points and a low of 91.4 points.

Silver May futures rose 0.5%, and closed at $26.11 an ounce, and posted a weekly gain of 3.1%, after hitting a day high at $26.380 and the low at $25.795.

US stock indices rose on Friday, and posted weekly gains while Dow Jones closed at a new record, after the release of upbeat economic data and a drop in the Treasury bond yields.

The data showed yesterday that the US retail sales rose 9.8% during March, beating forecasts of 5.8%, and the core reading showed a rise by 8.4% in March, better than forecasts of 5.1%.

The US unemployment claims fell to 576K during the past week, better than forecasts of 703K. 

The preliminary results from the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers, showed that the index rose to 86.5 points in April, slightly lower than forecasts of 88.9 points.

The 10-year US Treasury bond yields fell below 1.6% today.

Members of the US Federal Reserve stated that the US economy is heading toward a strong jump in growth, which is reflected in the released economic data.

To the oil market, WTI crude May futures fell 0.5% or 33 cents, and closed at $63.13 a barrel, and posted a weekly gain of 6.4%, after hitting a high of $63.8 and a low of $62.8.

Brent June futures fell 0.2% or 17 cents, and closed at $66.77 a barrel, with weekly gains of 6%, after hitting a high of $67.3 and a low of $66.4.

As for stocks, Dow Jones rose 0.5% or 164 points, and closed at 34,200, with a weekly gain of 1.2%, a day high of 34,256, and a low of 34,058.

Nasdaq rose 0.1% or 13 points to 14,052, and registered a 1.1% weekly gain, with a high of 14,062 and a low of 13,977.

S&P 500 rose 0.3% or 15 points to 4,185, and posted a weekly gain of 1.4%, after hitting a high of 4,191 and a low of 4,170.