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PRECIOUS-Gold holds near 9-month low as yields, dollar gain further

Gold fell to its lowest in nine months on Friday after better-than-expected U.S. employment data bolstered the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields, putting bullion on course for its third straight weekly decline.

·         Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,699.30 by 01:45 p.m. ET (1845 GMT), after falling to its lowest since June 8 at $1,686.40 in the session. It has fallen nearly 2% this week.

·         U.S. gold futures GCv1 settled 0.1% lower at $1,698.50.

·         "This optimism in regards to the economy moving forward continues to drive bond yields higher and that certainly has been taking the wind out of the sails of many commodity markets, including gold," said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.

·         Data showed U.S. jobs increased more than expected in February, raising hopes around a quick economic rebound driven by massive fiscal stimulus and vaccination drives. strong economic data lifted benchmark 10-year Treasury yields to their highest since February 2020, while the dollar .DXY also jumped. US/ USD/

·         U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday repeated his pledge to keep credit loose and flowing until Americans are back at work. comments disappointed gold investors who expected him to act on the recent surge in the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield, which has sent bullion below $1,700 per ounce.

·         "The gold market is giving back the pandemic gains. The drop below $1,700/oz leaves the market looking fragile," HSBC analysts said in a note.

"Powell's comments – while not new – have extinguished for the moment any possibility that the Fed will act on rising yields further out the curve. Further yield gains could throw gold and the other precious metals lower."

·         Silver XAG= dropped 0.4% to $25.22 an ounce and was down more than 5% on the week, its biggest weekly percentage fall since late November.

·         Palladium XPD= was up 0.3% at $2,346.19.

·         Platinum XPT= edged 0.1% higher to $1,127.16.

 

·         Senate passes $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, House Democrats plan final approval Tuesday

 

·         Biden says people will start getting stimulus checks this month as soon as House passes Covid relief bill

 

·         Biden calls on Congress to restore Voting Rights Act, signs orders to help expand access

President Joe Biden on Sunday signed an executive order aimed at helping to ensure all Americans have the right to vote by increasing access to voter registration services and information.

 

·         Schumer says Congress might consider more Covid relief depending on how long pandemic lasts

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer indicated on Saturday that congressional Democrats might consider more stimulus depending on how the economy and pandemic progress in the coming months, after the Senate passed a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package.

 

·         Job growth in February may signal start of a hiring boom as the economy reopens

February’s surprisingly strong job growth signals that the economy could be at a pivot point and is about to enter a hiring boom.

The economy added 379,000 jobs, well above the 210,000 expected, with most of them in leisure and hospitality, the sector hardest hit when the economy abruptly shut down a year ago.

In the first full monthly employment report under President Joe Biden, the unemployment rate fell to 6.2 percent,from 6.3 percent in January, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

·         CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:
COVID-19 infections are still rising in 68 countries.

Global Cases: 117.43 (+362,146)

Global Deaths: 2.60M (+5,521)

 

No. 1

U.S. Cases: 29.69M (+39,586)

U.S. Deaths: 537,826 (+704)

U.S. New cases fell as much as 25% in the week ended Feb. 7 and 23% in the week ended Feb. 21, before plateauing last week, according to a Reuters analysis of U.S. state and county reports.

 

No. 2  - 5

India Cases: 11.22M (+18,691)

Brazil Cases: 11.01M (+80,024)

Russia Cases: 4.32M (+10,595)

UK Cases: 4.21M (+5,177)

 

No.115

Thailand Cases: 26,370 (+65)

Thailand Deaths: 85

 

·         Covid-19 Vaccination:

So far 114 countries have begun vaccinating people for the coronavirus and have administered at least 300,116,000 doses of the vaccine.

Gibraltar leads the world and has administered enough vaccine doses for 63% of its population, assuming every person needs two doses.

 

·         EU regulator urges caution on Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine

A senior European Medicines Agency (EMA) official urged European Union members on Sunday to refrain from granting national approvals for Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V while the agency reviews its safety and effectiveness.

 

·         ‘Vaccine passports’ will help you travel abroad this year. But they won’t be without their challenges

As vaccination rollouts gather pace around the world, attention is now turning to vaccines of another kind: vaccine passports.

Last week, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the launch of its new digital travel pass as “the way forward” in resuming quarantine-free international travel.

 

·         China February exports post record surge from COVID-19-depressed 2020 levels

China's February exports grew at a record pace from a year earlier when COVID-19 battered the world's second-biggest economy, customs data showed on Sunday, while imports rose less sharply.

Exports in dollar terms skyrocketed 154.9% in February compared with a year earlier, while imports gained 17.3%, the most since October 2018. The data did not include figures for January alone.

In the January-February period, exports jumped 60.6% from a year earlier, when lockdowns to contain the pandemic paralysed the country's economic activity.

That exceeded the forecast of analysts in a Reuters poll for a 38.9% surge.

 

·         Chinese foreign minister takes firm tone, calls for ‘non-interference’ between China and the U.S.

 

·         U.S. will defend troops and interests after rocket attack in Iraq, Defense Secretary says

 

·         South Korea, U.S. scale back drills over virus, North Korea diplomacy

The South Korean and U.S. militaries are scaling back their annual exercises this month due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to support diplomacy focusing on North Korea’s nuclear program, officials said Sunday.

 

·         South Korea to boost funding for U.S. troops under new accord: State Department

Reference: CNBC, Reuters, Investing, Worldometers