PRECIOUS-Gold jumps over 2% on retreating U.S. yields, dollar
Gold surged more than 2% on Tuesday on the back of a retreat in U.S. Treasury yields and a weaker dollar, staging a strong recovery from the nine-month low it hit in the previous session.
· Spot gold rose 2.1% to $1,717.01 per ounce by 1:52 p.m. EST (1852 GMT), having slipped on Monday to $1,676.10, its lowest level since June 5.
· U.S. gold futures GCv1 settled up 2.3% at $1,716.90.
· "I don't know if this is the end to the upside trend in yields, but it's a start. Gold and silver traders have been waiting for this and are jumping back into this market, also given how oversold and low it got," said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
· Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR backed away from more than a one-year high hit last week, while the dollar .DXY fell.
· While gold is considered a hedge against a potential spike in inflation from massive economic stimulus measures, rising bond yields have challenged that status.
· Gold may extend gains in the near-term, but "fundamentally, the pendulum swings in favour of bears especially when factoring in how global sentiment is improving on vaccine rollouts and COVID-19 cases are falling globally", said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM.
· Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust GLD , fell on Monday to their lowest level since April 2020. GOL/ETF
· "The ETF flows are contributing to a greater impact on prices on the way down than on the way up. We forecast gold prices to reach $1,750/oz (in 2021), but given gold's recent volatility, this forecast has quite low conviction," Societe Generale said in a note.
· Investors are focusing on the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting next week. U.S. central bank chief Jerome Powell has said the Fed's current easy monetary policy stance remains appropriate.
· Silver rose 3.7% to $26.01 per ounce.
· Palladium fell 0.5% to $2,302.82.
· Platinum rose 3.3% to $1,172.42.
· Yellen promises local aid will be distributed quickly after stimulus is passed
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen vowed Tuesday that money appropriated for state and local governmental aid in the new stimulus bill will get out the door as quickly as possible.
With House passage of the $1.9 trillion spending plan imminent, Yellen said funneling out the $350 billion earmarked to make up for shortfalls in revenue will be a priority.
· Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 package clears procedural vote in U.S. House
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to advance President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, clearing the way for the measure to be considered on Wednesday, when it is expected to pass.
· House plans to pass $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill Wednesday, send it to Biden
House Democrats aim to pass the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill on Wednesday so Pr Democrats will likely pass the package without Republican votes, as the GOP questions the need for nearly $2 trillion more in federal spending. The bill was approved in the Senate without Republican support through the budget reconciliation process.
· Congress wants to waive taxes on unemployment. Some states may not
Congress may soon offer a tax break to unemployed Americans. States may not be so generous.
The Senate passed a $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill on Saturday that waives tax on up to $10,200 of unemployment benefits per person received in 2020.
· U.S. Senate panel chairman hopes for vote on China measures as soon as April
Senator Bob Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Tuesday he hoped the Senate could vote as soon as April on a sweeping bi-partisan package of legislation to address threats from China.
· Inflation may have been warming up in February, but it could be hot by May
Inflation is just warming up, but by late spring it could get downright hot, even if temporarily.
February’s consumer price index — a measure of inflation — is expected to be up moderately when it is released Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET. By May, the pace of headline consumer inflation on an annualized basis could be double February’s pace.
The debate in the market is whether the spike is transitory as the Fed and many economists say, or the start of a bigger trend.
· CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:
COVID-19 infections are still rising in 62 countries.
19 countries are still near the peak of their infection curve.
Global Cases: 118.14M (+378,016)
Global Deaths: 2.62M (+8,582)
Thailand Cases: 26,501 (+60)
Thailand Deaths: 85
Top 3 of New Cases:
1. Brazil Cases: 11.12M (+69,537)
2. U.S. Cases: 29.79M (52,834)
3. France Cases: 3.93M (+23,302)
Top 3 of New Deaths:
1. Brazil Deaths: 268,568 (+1,954)
2. U.S. Deaths: 540,406 (+1,533)
3. Italy Deahts: 100,479 (+376)
· Covid-19 Vaccination:
So far 118 countries have begun vaccinating people for the coronavirus and have administered at least 312,001,000 doses of the vaccine.
· U.S. government to ship 18.5 million doses of COVID vaccine this week, White House says
· Fauci warns U.S. Covid cases may ‘plateau again at an unacceptably high level’
White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that Covid-19 cases in the United States may plateau again at a very high level, even as the nation rapidly administers three vaccines.
The decline in cases seen since early January now appears to be “going down a little more slowly,” Fauci told the Center for Strategic and International Studies during an interview Tuesday afternoon. “Which means we might plateau again at an unacceptably high level.”
· EU rejects accusations of 'vaccine nationalism'
· The EU wants to boost its chip production as Covid fuels a global supply shortage
· Russia’s Sputnik V could be made in Europe for first time after Italy deal signed
The agreement, which will need approval from Italian regulators before production can be launched, has been confirmed by both RDIF and the Italian-Russian chamber of commerce.
It is the latest evidence that some EU companies are not willing to wait for the EU’s own regulator -- the European Medicines Agency (EMA) -- to grant its approval to Sputnik V before pushing ahead with their own plans.
Scientists said the Russian vaccine was almost 92% effective, based on peer-reviewed late-stage trial results published in The Lancet medical journal last month.
Sputnik V has already been approved or is being assessed for approval in three EU member states - Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. EU officials have said Brussels could start negotiations with a vaccine maker if at least four member countries request it.
· Biden to meet virtually with leaders of Japan, India, Australia
U.S. President Joe Biden will participate in an online meeting on Friday with the leaders of Japan, India and Australia, the White House announced on Tuesday, the first leader-level meeting of a group seen as part of efforts to balance China’s growing military and economic power.
· Barclays, Citi see 50 bps Brazil rate hike next week, raise year-end forecasts
In a note to clients, Barclays economists raised their year-end inflation forecast to 4.5% from 3.9%, adding that the risks remain tilted to the upside. This comes only a month after they raised the outlook from 3.6%.
· Brazil services activity starts 2021 with surprisingly strong growth
The services sector grew by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% on the month, government statistics agency IBGE said, three times as much as the median estimate of 0.2% expansion in a Reuters poll of economists.
· Saudi cabinet says Yemen's Houthis attacks target world economy -SPA
The Saudi cabinet said on Tuesday two “terrorist attempts” targetting a port and a residential neighbourhood were a blatant violation of international laws and norms that were also aimed at the world economy, state news agency SPA reported.
· 'Shoot till they are dead': Some Myanmar police say fled to India after refusing orders
When Tha Peng was ordered to shoot at protesters with his submachine gun to disperse them in the Myanmar town of Khampat on Feb. 27, the police lance corporal said he refused.
“The next day, an officer called to ask me if I will shoot,” he said. The 27-year-old refused again, and then resigned from the force.
On March 1, he said he left his home and family behind in Khampat and travelled for three days, mostly at night to avoid detection, before crossing into India’s northeastern Mizoram state.
Reference: CNBC, Worldometers, Investing, Reuters
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