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Gold up, heads for second weekly rise as dollar eases off session high

·         Gold rose on Friday, on track for a second weekly gain as U.S. Treasury yields dipped and dollar eased off session highs.

·         Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,742.14 per ounce at 3:11 p.m. EDT (1911 GMT), and was up 0.9% this week.

·         U.S. gold futures settled up 0.5% at $1,741.70.

·         "The 10-year rates have dropped a little bit and the dollar which was higher has also come off. We could see gold do a little bit better if the rates situation start to stabilize," said ED&F Man Capital Markets analyst Edward Meir.

 

"The fact that the talks did not go well could be a little bit supportive... (but) right now it is mainly a war of words," Meir said, pointing to the tit-for-tat tariffs the two sides had exchanged in the past.            

 

·         The U.S. 10-year yields eased after hovering near a more than one-year peak scaled in the last session. The dollar retreated from the session peak, which was its highest in more than a week.           

·         "The expected growth prospects, continuation of the relatively low interest rate environment does bring about some fears of inflation," which is gold supportive, said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.             

·         Gold is often seen as a hedge against inflation, but higher yields have threatened that status. 

    

·         On the technical front, "in the near term gold faces resistance around the $1,765/oz level," said Standard Chartered analyst Suki Cooper.

·         Meanwhile, the first high-level U.S.-China meeting of the Biden administration got off to a fiery start on Thursday, with both sides leveling sharp rebukes of the others' policies.

·         Gold is seen as a safe haven during times of political uncertainties.

·         Elsewhere, palladium fell 1.9% to $2,630.59 per ounce, but was up 11% for the week - its biggest since early November.

·         Platinum dropped 0.9% to $1,196.51 an ounce.

·         Silver rose 0.5% to $26.17.

·         Morgan Stanley says rising 10-year Treasury yields is reasonable as confidence in U.S. economy grows

 

·         The Fed will not extend a pandemic-crisis rule that had allowed banks to relax capital levels

The Federal Reserve on Friday declined to extend a pandemic-era rule that relaxed the amount of capital banks had to maintain against Treasurys and other holdings, in a move that could upset Wall Street and the bond market.

In a brief announcement, the Fed said it would allow a change to the supplementary leverage ratio to expire March 31. The initial move, announced April 1, 2020, allowed banks to exclude Treasurys and deposits with Fed banks from the calculation of the leverage ratio.

·         U.S. officials say talks with China useful, but do not highlight any concrete outcomes

 

·         China says China-U.S. talks were candid, constructive and beneficial

 

·         China to increase high-quality imports as economy recovers, vice premier says

 

·         Katherine Tai confirmed by Senate as first woman of color to be U.S. trade chief

 

·         IMF sees signs of stronger global recovery, but significant risks remain

The No. 2 official at the International Monetary Fund on Saturday pointed to emerging signs of a stronger global economic recovery, but warned that significant risks remained, including the emergence of mutations of the coronavirus.

 

·         CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:

COVID-19 infections are still rising in 77 countries.

Global Cases: 123.85M (+420,044)

Global Deaths: 2.73M (+5,898)

 

No.1

U.S. Cases: 30.52M (+39,403)
U.S. Deaths: 555,298 (+439)

 

Top 3 of New Cases:

1. Brazil Cases: 11.998M (+47,774)
2. India Cases: 11.645M (+47,009)
3. U.S. Cases: 30.521M (+39,403)

 

Top 3 of New Deaths:

1. Brazil Deaths: 294,115 (+1,259)
2. Mexico Deaths: 197,827 (+608)
3. U.S. Deaths: 555,298 (+439)

 

Rising Cases in Europe:

Europe Cases: 37.57M (+157,604)
Europe Deaths: 877,864 (+1,929)

No.1 – 7
Russia Cases: 4.45M (+9,299)
UK Cases: 4.29M (+5,312)
France Cases: 4.28M (+30,581)
Italy Cases: 3.37M (+20,159)
Spain Cases: 3.212M
Germany Cases: 2.67M (+11,149)
Poland Cases: 2.05M (+21,849)

 

Asia Cases: 26.96M (+125,829)
Asia Deaths: 416,467 (+919)

 

Thailand is No.116 of Global Pendamic:
Cases: 27,803 (+90)
Deaths: 90

 

·         Covid-19 Vaccination:

So far 139 countries have begun vaccinating people for the coronavirus and have administered at least 436,283,000 doses of the vaccine.

·         China reaches 70 million COVID-19 vaccinations: state media

 

·         China steps up COVID-19 vaccination, considers differentiated visa policies

 

·         Covid cases are rising in 21 states as health officials warn against reopening too quickly

Even as the pace of vaccinations accelerates in the U.S., Covid-19 cases are increasing in 21 states and highly infectious variants are spreading as governors relax restrictions on businesses like restaurants, bars and gyms.

Public health officials warn that while roughly 2.5 million people nationwide are receiving shots every day, infection levels have plateaued this month and some states have failed to reduce the number of daily cases.

The 7-day moving average of new infections plateaued at 54,666 as of Friday after declining for weeks, according to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

More than 541,000 people in the U.S. have died of the disease.

 

·         Brazil Covid variant detected in New York resident for the first time, Cuomo says

 

 

·         EU rebuffs UK calls to ship AstraZeneca COVID vaccines from Europe

 

·         UK sets new daily COVID vaccination record in 'mammoth team effort'

 

More than 27.6 million people in Britain, well over half the adult population, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, official data showed on Sunday, after a daily record of 844,285 doses were administered the previous day.

 

·         UK reports 33 new COVID-19 deaths, lowest daily number since October

 

·         Germany set to extend COVID-19 lockdown, draft proposal says

 

·         Turkey's COVID-19 deaths rise above 30,000, total cases top 3 million

 

·         Denmark reports two cases of serious illness, including one death, after AstraZeneca shot

 

·         Philippines tightens coronavirus curbs as cases top 7,000 for third day

 

·         Defense secretary travels to Afghanistan as troop withdrawal deadline looms

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin traveled to Afghanistan on Sunday to meet with the nation’s leader, as Washington considers a potential end to America’s longest war.

The trip, which makes Austin the first Biden Cabinet-level official to visit the war-torn country, comes 40 days ahead of a U.S. troop withdrawal deadline.

·         EU proposes new rules to boost start-ups and catch up with the U.S. and China on tech

The EU Start-up Nations Standard calls on countries to change their laws on stock options and immigration visas so that start-ups can attract the best talent from anywhere in the world.

It also says that the process for creating a new company should be fast-tracked to just one day, and cost less than 100 euros ($119). Visa processing times should also be accelerated, it says.

So far, 25 countries across Europe have signed up to the framework.

 

·         EU leaders shift to virtual summit as COVID-19 cases surge

A European Union summit due to take place on March 25-26 in Brussels will now be held via video conference due to the increase in coronavirus infections across Europe, an EU spokesman said on Sunday.

 

·         Saudi Aramco profit slumps 44% after Covid-battered year, but maintains dividend

 

·         Musk says Tesla would be shut down if its cars spied in China, elsewhere

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said on Saturday his company would be shut down if its cars were used to spy, his first comments on news that China’s military has banned Teslas from its facilities.

Sources said Friday that the Chinese military has banned Tesla cars from entering its complexes, citing security concerns over cameras installed on the vehicles.

“There’s a very strong incentive for us to be very confidential with any information,” Musk said.

It comes as top Chinese and U.S. diplomats hold a contentious meeting in Alaska.

·         Wary Philippines says 200 Chinese vessels at disputed reef

·         Myanmar protesters defiant as two more killed, pressure on junta grows