Set of gold bars

By Myra P. Saefong and Mark DeCambre

Published: May 16, 2018 3:15 p.m. ET

Gold futures finished slightly higher Wednesday, a day after the metal got pummeled below $1,300 an ounce to post its lowest settlement of the year on the back of a jolt higher by U.S. government bond yields and a resurgent dollar.

The recent jump in Treasury yields and strength in the greenback had served to undercut appetite for precious metals in recent sessions.

On Wednesday, the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, +0.21%  yield was at about 3.08%, pulling back from its highest levels since 2011, while the U.S. dollar, as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.14% a measure of a half-dozen rival currencies, was up 0.1% at 93.33, after trading as high as 93.63—its highest level of 2018, according to FactSet data.

Higher yields dent demand for nonyielding bullion and a strengthening greenback makes commodities priced in the currency, like gold, more expensive to buyers using other monetary units.

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