* US weekly jobless claims fall as labor market remains tight
* US bond yields highest since Oct
* Silver on track for best day since July
Aug 17 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher on Thursday as a dip in the dollar offered some respite from rising Treasury yields and U.S. rate hike concerns that has pushed bullion below the key $1,900 per ounce level.
Spot gold was up 0.3% at $1,897.99 per ounce by 09:54 a.m. EDT (1354 GMT), after hitting its lowest level since March 15 at $1,888.30 earlier in the session.
U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,927.50.
The dollar index slipped 0.3% against its rivals, making gold less expensive for other currency holders.
"Gold has been down over the course of the last several sessions due to rising interest rates and bond yields," said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures, adding, "we did see a bit of bargain hunting at these levels."
"We noticed yesterday in response to the FOMC minutes the market portended that the Federal Reserve still might need to be a bit more aggressive than previously expected in regards to continuing to raise rates."
Minutes of the
Federal Reserve July 25-26 meeting
on Wednesday showed most policymakers continued to prioritize the battle against inflation, while few participants cited risks to the economy if rates were pushed too high.
The expectation that U.S. interest rates will likely be higher for longer has boosted benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields to their highest since October, making non-yielding bullion less attractive for investors.
Data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits
fell last week
, pointing to a still tight labor market.
"Markets are looking for cracks in the U.S. labor market to really change the current trajectory and until such time, bullion may remain under pressure," DailyFX analyst Warren Venketas wrote in a note.
Silver gained 1.8% to $22.78 an ounce, its biggest daily increase since July 31, while platinum rose 1.9% to $898.94. Palladium climbed 1.4% to $1,225.37.
(Reporting by Brijesh Patel and Deep Vakil in Bengaluru Editing by Keith Weir)
