silver rates move higher but Gold prices fall today

silver rates move higher but Gold prices fall today.

• Last week, gold posted its biggest weekly gain since 2008.
• After that gold has remained in a narrow range.

Gold prices inched lower in today in global markets ahead of the US jobless claims data due later in the day. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,589.71 per ounce by 1050 GMT. A stronger dollar weighed on gold. In India commodity markets are closed due to a holiday.

"Both bulls and bears can build a narrative in gold right now, with low inflation, weak physical demand from key buyers and the dollar's strength for the bears and the economic shock, negative real yields and cenbank easing for bulls," said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.

Among other precious metals, silver gained 0.9% to $14.13 per ounce while palladium rose 3.5% to $2,294.27 per ounce, while platinum edged 0.2% higher to $718.62.

"The oil price jump is adding some 'risk on' to stocks as well, which is probably reducing demand for gold a little bit."

Last week, gold posted its biggest weekly gain since 2008, helped by a dramatic plunge in the US Dollar which drove up foreign demand for the precious metal. "The dollar fell after the Federal Reserve announced massive stimulus and Congress approved a historic financial rescue package of $2 trillion. Both moves have the potential to flood the global economy with US dollars. The moves also relieved pressure on the credit markets, encouraging investors to dump US dollars held as safe-haven assets. Last week, prices gained 8.63 percent at COMEX, whereas metal was up 7.96% on the domestic bourses. Also helping to boost gold prices last week was a problem with the physical supply of gold as virus-led lockdowns stalled supply chains," Religare Broking said in a note.

Indicative of sentiment, holdings in the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, rose 0.18% to 968.75 tonnes on Wednesday, their highest since October 2016.

European shares rose in choppy trading, while crude oil futures jumped 10% after U.S. President Donald Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia and Russia to reach a deal soon to end their oil price war.

The dollar held onto overnight gains as investors rushed to the security of the world's most liquid currency.

Market participants awaited weekly jobless claims report from the U.S. Labor Department due at 1230 GMT for an indication of the economy's health.

Goldman Sachs expects the jobless claims to jump to a record 6 million for the March 22-28 week.