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Gold scales over 1-week peak as U.S. dollar, yields ease

·         Gold prices rose about 1% on Tuesday and hit the highest in more than a week, boosted by as a retreating dollar and lower U.S. Treasury yields.

 

·         Spot gold rose 0.8% to $1,743.04 per ounce by 2:11 p.m. ET, after hitting its highest level since March 25 at $1,745.15.

 

·         U.S. gold futures settled 0.8% higher at $1,743.

 

 

·         Gold has been lifted temporarily by a steady decline in the dollar index and lower Treasury yields, said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago.

 

“The rally is not necessarily sustainable ... $1,750 I believe is a resistance point,” Streible said.

 

·         The dollar fell to a near two-week low, making gold cheaper for holders of other currencies, while benchmark U.S. Treasury yields drifted lower.

 

·         “Investors believe that we are not going to see another huge run-up in the yields and that has prompted gold to technically rebound,” said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities.

 

 

·         “For the gold story to return to a firmer footing ... we need to see either some geopolitical concerns or inflation pick up more aggressively than the market has been pricing,” said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.

 

 

·         SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its sell around 3.79 tones to 1,029.04 tonnes on Tuesday.

 

·         Investors are also awaiting minutes on Wednesday from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting for more cues on its monetary policy.

 

·         Cleveland Fed Bank President Loretta Mester on Monday said the U.S. economic outlook is brightening, though the U.S. central bank should stick to its easy policy to support growth further.

 

·         In other precious metals, silver rose 1% to $25.14 per ounce, palladium gained 0.5% to $2,676.74 platinum climbed 2% to $1,232.52.

 

·         U.S. must invest heavily to stay No. 1 economy -White House economist

The United States must invest heavily in its workforce, infrastructure, research and development to remain competitive and stay the world’s largest economy, Cecilia Rouse, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said on Tuesday.

 

·         U.S. job openings jump to two-year high in boost to labor market

U.S. job openings rose to a two-year high in February while hiring picked up as strengthening domestic demand amid increased COVID-19 vaccinations and additional pandemic aid from the government boost companies’ needs for more workers.

The Labor Department’s monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Tuesday was the latest indication that the labor market had turned the corner after shedding jobs in December as the nation buckled under a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections and depleted government relief.

Job openings, a measure of labor demand, increased 268,000 to 7.4 million as of the last day of February. That was the highest level since January 2019 and pushed job openings 5.1% above their pre-pandemic level.

 

·         Yellen says more work needed to shore up weaknesses revealed by pandemic

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said a rapid U.S. economic recovery would boost overall global growth, but more work was needed to shore up weaknesses the global COVID-19 crisis exposed in the non-bank financial sector, supply chains and social safety nets.

 

·         EU backs U.S. call for global minimum corporate tax, but rate to be decided

The European Commission backed on Tuesday a call from U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for a global minimum corporate tax, but said its rate should be decided in talks in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

 

·         Germany and France see global tax deal, Ireland has doubts

Germany and France on Tuesday welcomed a promise by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to work on a global corporate minimum tax rate as a step towards making a landmark deal achievable, but low-tax Ireland voiced reservations.

 

·         France sees global tax deal in reach after U.S. pledge

 

·         Germany expects deal on new IMF reserves to help poorest countries in pandemic

 

·         IMF favors global minimum corporate tax: chief economist

The International Monetary Fund has long favored adoption of a global minimum tax on corporate profits, the Fund’s chief economist, Gita Gopinath, told reporters on Tuesday, calling tax avoidance a troubling issue for the global economy.

 

IMF increases global growth forecast, says crisis end is ‘increasingly visible’

The organization said Tuesday it expects the world economy to grow by 6% in 2021, up from its 5.5% forecast in January. Looking further ahead, global GDP for 2022 is seen increasing by 4.4%, higher than an earlier estimate of 4.2%.

 

IMF chief economist says rising U.S. debt level not a major concern

The IMF estimated growth of 5.1% for advanced economies this year, with the United States expanding by 6.4%.

·         Coronavirus Updates:

COVID-19 infections are still rising in 66 countries.

Global COVID-19 death toll surpasses 3 million amid new infections resurgence

Global Cases: 133M (+574,753)
Global Deaths: 2.88M (+11,778)

No. 1 - 3
U.S. Cases: 31.56M (+62,283)
U.S. Deaths: 570,259 (+905)

Brazil Cases: 13.10M (+82,869)
Brazil Deaths: 337,3674 (+4,211)

India Cases: 12.79M (+115,269)
India Deaths: 166,208 (+631)

 

No.114
Thailand Cases: 29,571 (+250)
Thailand Deaths: 95

 

Europe Cases: 40.67M (+107,207)
Europe Deaths: 931,976 (+3,071)

 

Asia Cases: 29.79M (+245,540)
Asia Deaths: 437,950 (+2,105)

 

·         Global Vaccination

So far, at least 153 countries have begun vaccinating people for the coronavirus and have administered at least 677,709,000 doses of the vaccine.

·         Americans get one dose as 32.6%, Fully doses 19% and total doses of vaccine at least 168,592,075.

 

·         New cases of COVID-19 in the United States rose 5% to more than 450,000 last week, the third week in a row that infections have increased, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county data.

The average number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals rose 4% to more than 37,000 in the week ended April 4, breaking a streak of 11 weeks of falling admissions.

Twenty-seven out of 50 states reported increases in new cases last week compared with the previous seven days, according to the Reuters analysis.

 

·         California plans to fully reopen economy on June 15

 

·         Indian capital imposes night curfew ahead of 'critical' four weeks in COVID-19 fight

The Indian capital of New Delhi on Tuesday imposed a night-time curfew until April 30 with much of the country struggling to contain a second surge in coronavirus infections that has eclipsed the first wave.

 

·         Brazil's COVID-19 death surge set to pass the worst of record U.S. wave

Brazil’s brutal surge in COVID-19 deaths will soon surpass the worst of a record January wave in the United States, climbing well beyond an average 3,000 fatalities per day, scientists predict, as contagious new variants overwhelm hospitals.

Brazil’s overall death toll trails only the U.S. outbreak, with nearly 333,000 killed, according to Health Ministry data, compared with more than 555,000 dead in the United States.

 

·         German CDU leader calls for tougher lockdown for 2-3 weeks

 

·         A third of COVID survivors suffer neurological or mental disorders: study

One in three COVID-19 survivors in a study of more than 230,000 mostly American patients were diagnosed with a brain or psychiatric disorder within six months, suggesting the pandemic could lead to a wave of mental and neurological problems, scientists said on Tuesday.

 

·         Oxford pauses COVID-19 vaccine study in kids, awaits more data on blood clot issues

 

·         France's COVID-19 hospitalisations at a near five-month high

 

·         Czech government to reopen some schools, lift curfew next week

 

·         Vaccine passports must be proportionate, legal, EU privacy watchdogs say

 

·         EU expects to vaccinate majority by end-June – Bloomberg

Most European Union states will have enough COVID-19 vaccines to immunize the majority of their people by the end of June, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing an internal memo.

 

·         U.S. considering joining boycott of 2022 Beijing Olympics, State Department says

Price said the United States has not yet made a decision but was concerned about China’s egregious human rights abuses. The Olympic Games are due to take place between Feb. 4 and Feb. 20.

 

U.S. State Department backs away from the idea of a Beijing Olympics boycott

 

·         China leaps into a central digital bank currency, but similar progress eludes the U.S.

China has leapfrogged much of the developed world in its establishment of digital yuan.

Central bank digital currencies are a growing source of interest around the world as cryptocurrencies flourish.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has taken a more deliberate approach to the issue and is unlikely to make any reactive moves to the developments in China.

 

·         Coinbase estimates Q1 revenue jumped nine-fold to about $1.8 billion ahead of public market debut

 

·         Coinbase investigating transaction delays on its financial platform

 

 

·         Cryptocurrency inflows hit all-time high of $4.5 billion in first-quarter: Coinshares

 

 

·         Intel aims for supply chain edge with new data center chip

 

·         Morgan Stanley dumped $5 billion in Archegos’ stocks the night before massive fire sale hit rivals

 

·         Russia says Myanmar sanctions could lead to civil war, but EU plans more

Russia said on Tuesday the West risked triggering civil war in Myanmar by imposing sanctions on the military junta that has seized power in a coup, but France said the European Union will step up restrictions on the generals.

 

·         Philippines' Duterte calls for peaceful resolution of China boats impasse

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is committed to peacefully resolving a diplomatic row with China over the disputed South China Sea, his spokesman said on Tuesday, in a measured response after days of strong rebukes by his ministers and generals.

 

Reference: CNBC, Reuters, Worldometers, Bloomberg