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Gold gains over 1% as focus turns to Biden administration

 

·         Gold rose more than 1% on Wednesday on expectations that U.S. President Joe Biden's administration would increase stimulus measures to deal with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Spot gold was up 1.6% to $1,868.00 per ounce, having touched more than a one-week high earlier. U.S. gold futures  settled up 1.4% at $1,866.50.

 

·         "Whether the feelings of comity will last the afternoon remain in question as Biden's first acts will be to reverse some of his predecessor's policies. Gold has had a very good day and a close here or even near $1,860 opens the door for $1,900," said Tai Wong, head of base and precious metals derivatives trading at BMO.

 

·         "The most market-relevant indicator for gold markets will be the reception that the 1.9 trillion USD stimulus bill will get on Capitol Hill, especially in the Senate and whether it will encounter a fair tailwind or stormy seas." Biden was sworn into office on Wednesday, with investors focused on his $1.9 trillion stimulus package proposal and the pace of COVID-19 vaccine distribution.                         

 

·         Gold is considered a hedge against inflation that can result from stimulus measures.Comments by Janet Yellen, Biden's nominee to head the Treasury Department, underscoring the need for stimulus also supported the metal, said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Future. Yellen, a former chair of the Federal Reserve, on Tuesday urged U.S. lawmakers to "act big" on relief spending and said pandemic relief would take priority over tax increases.

           

·         Gold can still reach $2,000, probably by the middle of the second quarter when a good amount of people get inoculated and there's so much cash in the system with demand almost coming back to normal, said Howie Lee, an economist at OCBC Bank."People will start looking at inflation very closely then,"Lee added.

 

·         Silver rose 2.2% to $25.75 an ounce, platinum climbed 2.3% to $1,108.05, while palladium rose 1.1% to $2,378.37.

 

·         Joe Biden is sworn in as president: ‘Democracy has prevailed’

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. became the 46th U.S. president on Wednesday, completing the most daunting power transfer in recent American history.

 

Inaugurated in a fortified Washington under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, the 78-year-old Democrat took the oath of office at the U.S. Capitol in front of a sparse bipartisan crowd.

 

 

·         Biden imposes mask mandate on federal property, ends border wall construction

 

·         Biden to rejoin Paris climate agreement, revoke Trump ‘Muslim ban’ in first executive orders

 

President-elect Joe Biden will in the first few hours of his presidency sign more than a dozen executive orders to address a litany of challenges ranging from the Covid-19 pandemic to the student debt crisis.

 

Biden’s orders will also work to reverse many of those issued by President Donald Trump, including the so-called Muslim travel ban and the construction of a wall along the southern border of the United States.

 

Senior members of Biden’s policy team said during a press briefing Tuesday evening that Biden will sign the executive orders from the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon in the hours immediately following his inauguration.

 

 

·         Biden administration holds press briefing after president signs executive actions

 

 

·         The Fed under Biden: New mandates, a close White House tie and big challenges ahead

The Federal Reserve is likely to enjoy a more cordial relationship with President Joe Biden than it did with Donald Trump, who once called central bankers “boneheads.”

 

“He will respect the office. Biden’s an old-fashioned guy,” said Christopher Whalen, a finance veteran and head of Whalen Global Advisors.

 

However, the Fed under Biden likely will be pushed toward addressing racial inequality and climate change.

 

“Above all else, what the Fed wants to do is to keep as much power as they can, and the way in which they keep their power is to keep the party in charge happy,” policy expert Ed Mills said.

 

 

·         China sanctions Pompeo, O’Brien, Azar and other Trump administration officials after Biden inauguration

 

The Chinese government slapped sanctions on former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and former trade adviser Peter Navarro, along with other members of the Trump administration Wednesday. The move came after Joe Biden was sworn in as 46th president of the United States.

 

“Over the past few years, some anti-China politicians in the United States, out of their selfish political interests and prejudice and hatred against China and showing no regard for the interests of the Chinese and American people, have planned, promoted and executed a series of crazy moves which have gravely interfered in China’s internal affairs, undermined China’s interests, offended the Chinese people, and seriously disrupted China-U.S. relations,” wrote the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.

 

“China has decided to sanction 28 persons who have seriously violated China’s sovereignty and who have been mainly responsible for such U.S. moves on China-related issues,” the statement also said.

 

The Chinese government also named former deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger, former Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft, assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell and under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Keith Krach.

 

 

 

·         ‘The U.S. is back’: Europe cherishes Trump’s departure on Biden’s Inauguration Day

 

The European Union is cheering the arrival of President-elect Joe Biden after four fractious years under the leadership of Donald Trump.

 

“This day brings good news: The United States is back and Europe stands ready to reconnect with an old and trusted partner,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission said on Wednesday.

 

“Joe Biden’s oath will be a message of healing for a deeply divided nation and it will be a message of hope to a world waiting for the U.S. to be back in the circle of like-minded states,” von der Leyen also said in Brussels, adding that “after four long years, Europe has a friend in the White House.”

 

The U.S. and the EU have been at odds over several issues, from international trade to climate change, since Trump arrived at the White House in January 2017. The president’s combative style and unilateral actions were not welcomed by European officials, who were used to coordinating some policies with the United States. 

 

Global Cases: 97.26 (+656,446)

 

Global Deaths: 2.08M (+16,867)

 

 

 

No. 1

 

U.S. Cases: 24.98M (+177,191)

U.S. Deaths: 415,530 (+4,010)

 

 

 

No. 2 -6

 

India Cases: 10.61M (+15,277)

 

Brazil Cases: 8.63M (64,126)

 

Russia Cases: 3.63M (+21,152)

 

UK Cases: 3.50M (+38,905)

 

France Cases: 2.96 (+26,784)

 

 

 

Asian Updates:

 

No. 39

 

Japan Cases: 339,774 (+5,446)

Japan Deaths: 4,647 (+99)

 

 

 

No. 71

 

Myanmar Cases: 135,721 (+478)

Myanmar Deaths: 2,997 (+11)

 

 

 

No. 83

 

China Cases: 88,557 (+103)

China Deaths: 4,635

 

 No. 86

 

South Korea Cases: 73,518 (+403)

South Korea Deaths: 1,300 (+17)

 

 

 

No. 128

 

Thailand Cases: 12,653 (+59)

Thailand Deaths: 71 (+1)

 

 

 

·         China’s capital Beijing on Wednesday announced stricter Covid-19 control measures and will shut down a subway station after the city reported its biggest daily jump in new Covid-19 cases in more than three weeks.

 

The country is experiencing its most severe Covid-19 outbreak since March 2020 ahead of the key Lunar New Year holiday season. More than 20 provincial-level regions have asked people to stay put during the holiday.