Most fundamentals are stacked against it: higher yields, dollar that refuses to drop further, recovering economic trajectory, picking up of vaccination rates," said Howie Lee, an economist at OCBC Bank. Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields held near 1.5%, threatening gold's appeal as an inflation hedge as they increase the opportunity cost of holding bullion, which pays no returns, while the dollar rose against rivals. [US/][USD/] Investors now await Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's remarks before a virtual Wall Street Journal Jobs Summit at 1705 GMT, for clues on the central bank's monetary policy outlook.