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Gold eased yesterday, after hitting one-month high in the previous session, as a slight recovery in share markets and US Treasury yields reduced some of the precious metal’s safe-haven appeal.

Spot gold was down 0,3 percent at $1,317.46 per ounce as of 0816 GMT, after touching its highest since February 28 at $1,324.33 in the previous session.

US gold futures were down 0,4 percent at $1,317.10 an ounce.

“Though concerns have gone up, we are not hundred percent sure there is going to be a recession as the yield curve inversion should be there for a whole quarter and not just for a day or two,” said John Sharma, economist at the National Australian Bank.

The 10-year US Treasury yield fell below the yield for three-month bills on Friday for the first time since 2007, inverting the yield curve.

An inversion is widely seen as an indicator of an economic recession.

However, US 10-year Treasury yields edged up yesterday, lifting Asian shares, but the outlook remained murky as investors weighed the odds of whether the US economy is in danger of slipping into recession.

“Risk of a US economic slowdown has gone up and interest rates are on hold, which is giving some stimulus to gold, but it’s not enough to sky rocket gold prices. Investors need more confirmation of further weakness in the economy,” Sharma said.

US Federal Reserve last week abandoned projections for any interest rate hikes this year.

Gold prices have gained more than 3 percent since early March, mainly on the back of a dovish Fed and concerns about a global economic slowdown.

On the technical front, a sharp rally from $1,282 towards$1,320 price level has created a small trading channel, which indicates that an immediate break should be around $1,326, said Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Commodities in Mumbai. — Reuters.