FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was down 0.4% at $1,977.14 per ounce by 0045 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.4% to $1,976.40.
* Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose to a near one-month high as the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point at a two-day event scheduled to begin from March 16.
* Gold is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates, which increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
* Asian shares advanced on Monday on hopes of a respite in the Ukraine crisis even as fighting raged on.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week there had been some progress in Moscow’s talks with Ukraine, but provided no details.
* Meanwhile, physical gold dealers in India were forced to offer the steepest discount in six years last week to lure customers put off by a jump in domestic prices, with some people in top Asian hubs selling their bullion to cash in on the rally.
* Palladium , used by automakers in catalytic converters to curb emissions, slipped 3.9% to $2,707.60 per ounce. The metal hit a record high of $3,440.76 last week, driven by fears of supply disruptions from top producer Russia.
* Russian mining giant Nornickel is facing significant logistics issues but has managed to secure alternative routes for its palladium deliveries.
* Among other metals, spot silver shed 0.7% to $25.63 per ounce, while platinum fell 1.9% to $1,059.03.
