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Gold firms near 1-month peak as dollar, U.S. yields retreat

Gold prices climbed to their highest level in more than a month on Thursday as the dollar and U.S.

yields dropped and the Federal Reserve’s reiteration of its dovish policy stance also lifted bullion’s appeal.

·         Spot gold rose 1.11% to $1,756.56 per ounce , having earlier hit its highest since March 1 at $1,758.45.

·         U.S. gold futures settled up about 1% at $1,758.2.

·         “The dollar and U.S. yields are coming off and that’s the key catalyst right now... a pretty unimpressive jobs number is also helping push gold higher,” said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist, RJO Futures.

“And the fact that we’re above $1,750, which is a key technical level, shows that gold has some legs to continue higher.” The dollar slipped to a more than two-week low, while benchmark Treasury yields eased, making gold more appealing compared to alternative investments like bonds.

·         New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, data showed. This further highlighted the Fed’s commitment of supporting the economy until its recovery is more secure, minutes of the central bank’s latest policy meeting showed on Wednesday.

·         “Gold has been somewhat weak because people have been very optimistic about the economic recovery and the vaccinations resolving the pandemic and the Fed sort of reinforced the view that the pandemic is not over,” said Jeffrey Christian, managing partner of CPM Group.

“There is a real race between the variants and the vaccinations, and right now the variants seem to have the upper hand on a global basis.”

·         Market participants now await Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at a virtual International Monetary Fund conference later on Thursday.

·         Silver gained 1.4% to $25.47 per ounce, having hit a more than two-week peak of $25.60.

·         Palladium added 0.3% to $2,630.19 per ounce.

·         Platinum rose 0.4% to $1,229.99.

·         6 million people applied for unemployment a year ago. They’re still near pre-pandemic highs

New claims for state benefits were about 741,000 last week through April 3, the Labor Department said Thursday. (The data don’t include an adjustment for seasonal factors.)

That’s 18,000 above the prior week and the second consecutive week claims have risen.

 

·         Federal Reverse chairman Jerome Powell signaled on Thursday that the economic rebound from the pandemic still has room to go as the recovery thus far hasn’t been well-rounded.

Powell also repeated that inflation is not expected to be serious even though near-term price pressures are likely.

 

·         Powell says he is not focused on possible second term as Fed chair

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday deflected a question about whether he is likely to serve a second term at the helm of the U.S. central bank, when it is expected to face the challenge of unwinding some of its extraordinarily easy policies.

 

·         Yellen tells world's big economies: spend big, danger lurks

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday warned of the risk of a permanent divergence in the global economy in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, and urged major economies to inject significant new fiscal support to secure a robust recovery.

 

·         Fed policymakers see risk from infections, not inflation

The U.S. Federal Reserve plans to keep its super-easy policy in place even as data shows the economy kicking into higher gear, with policymakers predicting on Thursday that an expected increase in prices this year will fade on its own, and warning about the recent uptick in COVID-19 infections.

 

·         NY Fed may make technical adjustment due to asset purchases, official says

The Federal Reserve’s ongoing asset purchases are lifting bank reserves to new highs and contributing to a new normal for money markets, a senior New York Fed official said on Thursday.

 

·         IMF warns debt overhang and financial vulnerabilities pose double threat

Geoffrey Okamoto, first deputy managing director at the IMF, discusses the outlook for economic growth.

 

·         Global economy recovering from pandemic, higher rates would hurt -IMF steering committee

 

·         Coronavirus Updates:

COVID-19 infections are still rising in 58 countries.

 

Global Cases: 134.50M (+737,425)

Global Deaths: 2.91M (+13,827)

 

No. 1 - 3

U.S. Cases: 31.71M (+80,161)

U.S. Deaths: 573,856 (+1,009)

 

Brazil Cases: 13.28M (+89,293)

Brazil Deaths: 345,287 (+4,190)

 

India Cases: 13.05M (+131,893)

India Deaths: 167,694 (+802)

 

No.113

Thailand Cases: 30,310 (+405)

Thailand Deaths: 95

Europe Cases: 41.09M (+188,411)

Europe Deaths: 941,108 (+4,384)

 

Asia Cases: 30.33M (+280,227)

Asia Deaths: 442,019 (+2,036)

 

 

·         Global Vaccination

So far, at least 160 countries have begun vaccinating people for the coronavirus and have administered at least 709,811,000 doses of the vaccine.

 

·         U.S. to ship 85% fewer J&J vaccine doses to states next week

·        COVAX vaccines reach more than 100 countries, despite supply snags

 

·         Vaccine rollout in England prevented 10,400 deaths by end-March, study says

 

·         Italy PM Draghi appeals for elderly to get vaccine priority

 

·         Britain reassures on AstraZeneca after advising under-30s take other vaccines

 

·         Spain to vaccinate 60-69 year olds with AstraZeneca shot, government says

 

·         Netherlands limits use of AstraZeneca vaccine to people over 60

 

·         Japan to add Tokyo, other areas to COVID-19 'quasi-emergency' state

Japan aims to place Tokyo under a new, month-long “quasi-emergency” state to combat surging COVID-19 case numbers, a minister said on Friday, less than a month after the capital and host of the Summer Olympics lifted a broader state of emergency.

 

·         Florida sues CDC to allow cruises to resume U.S. sailings, industry asks to be treated like airlines

 

·         GM and Ford cutting production at several North American plants due to chip shortage

 

·         U.S. blacklists seven Chinese supercomputing entities citing national security concerns

 

·         Bitcoin exchange Kraken considers going public after record trading volumes in the first quarter

The start-up is the fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and has over 6 million clients.

Coinbase, Kraken’s main rival in the U.S., is set to go public in a blockbuster direct listing next week.

 

·         Mexico cenbank says pause in interest rate cuts doesn't mean easing cycle over

 

·         Brazil interest rates to reach neutral level in 2022: cenbank director

 

·         Euro zone producer price growth accelerates in February

The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said prices at factory gates in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 0.5% month-on-month for a 1.5% year-on-year rise.

Euro zone consumer inflation jumped in March to 1.3%, taking another step higher in what is likely to be a temporary but sharp climb that may put consumer price growth above the European Central Bank’s target of near 2% later this year.

 

·         ECB sees scope for cutting bonds buys after second-quarter surge

European Central Bank policymakers at their meeting last month debated a smaller increase in bond purchases and agreed to front-load the buying this quarter on condition it could be cut later if conditions allow, the accounts of their meeting showed on Thursday.

 

·         U.S. concerned about Russian troop movements near Ukraine, discussing regional tensions with NATO allies

 

·         U.S. blacklists Myanmar state-owned gems enterprise

The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday imposed sanctions on a Myanmar state-owned gems enterprise in a bid to curtail the military junta’s ability to generate revenues, according to a statement.

Reference: CNBC, Reuters, Worldometers