MARKET NEWS

(Updates prices)
    * Dollar rises to highest level in nearly a month
    * Yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury highest since May 2019

    By Seher Dareen
    April 5 (Reuters) - Gold fell on Tuesday as rising U.S.
Treasury yields and expectations for more aggressive monetary
policy tightening by the Federal Reserve offset safe-haven
demand for bullion spurred by possible new Western sanctions on
Russia.
    Spot gold        was down 0.6% at $1,921.47 per ounce by
2:16 p.m. EDT (1816 GMT). U.S. gold futures        settled down
0.3% at 1,927.50.
    Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields rose after Fed Governor
Lael Brainard said she expects methodical rate hikes and rapid
reductions to the central bank's balance sheet to bring U.S.
monetary policy to a "more neutral position" later this year.
            
    Expectations for the Fed to be a bit more aggressive in
fighting inflationary pressures are weighing on gold,
considering "she's (Brainard) generally considered to be one of
the more dovish members of the Fed," said David Meger, director
of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
    Rising U.S. interest rates increase the opportunity cost of
holding non-yielding gold.
    The dollar        also advanced, curbing overseas buyers'
appetite for gold.       
    "Geopolitical risks will likely be the primary short-term
driver and that would help gold widen that trading range
($1,900-$1,950), where you could see prices possibly even going
to $1,975," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
    But price action may also be influenced by the release on
Wednesday of the minutes from the Fed's last policy meeting,
which will be scanned for clues on the trajectory of rate hikes,
Moya added
    Wall Street indexes fell after Brainard's comments, which
spooked investors who were already on edge over the prospect of
fresh sanctions on Russia.                             
    Spot silver        fell 0.8% to $24.30 per ounce, platinum
       fell 1.9% to $968.09 and palladium        fell 1.8% to
$2,234.57. 
    Standard Charted lowered its 2022 palladium forecast to
$2,270 an ounce from $2,763. 
    While supply concerns and possible disruptions in South
Africa could keep the palladium market on edge in the near term,
demand losses may eventually weigh on the market later this
year, Standard Charted said in a note.

 (Reporting by Seher Dareen and Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru
Editing by Paul Simao)