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Gold heads for best week in 4 months on subdued dollar, yields

Gold prices hit a seven-week high on Friday and were on track for their best week since mid-December, bolstered by a softer dollar and a sharp pull back in U.S. Treasury yields in the previous session.

·         Spot gold was 0.8% higher at $1,778.04 per ounce by 1:53 p.m. EDT (1753 GMT), having earlier hit its highest since Feb. 25 at $1,783.55. It is up 2% so far this week.

·         U.S. gold futures settled 0.8% higher at $1,780.20.

·         “The macro argument for gold has also improved. We are poised for a run towards $1,800,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.

 

“We’ve had many investors abandon some positions because of some extreme technical selling we saw with Treasury yields and that has really provided a strong backdrop here for gold prices to continue to appreciate.”

·         Benchmark U.S. bond yields hovered near a one-month low hit in the previous session, while the dollar was headed for second week of declines.

·         Gold’s advance came despite robust U.S. retail sales data and a significant drop in weekly jobless claims.

·         The drop in 10-year yields below the key 1.60% mark “has allowed spot gold to break above its 50-day simple moving average (SMA) for the first time since early February,” FXTM Market Analyst Han Tan said in a note.

·         On the physical front, the world’s biggest gold consumer China has given domestic and international banks permission to import large amounts of gold into the country, five sources familiar with the matter said, in a potential fillip to gold prices.

SPDR GOLD HOLDINGS:

·         Silver rose 0.6% to $26.01 per ounce and was up 3% for the week, heading for its biggest weekly gain since January.

·         Palladium climbed 1.2% to $2,773.92 and gained more than 5% for the week.

·         Platinum was 0.8% higher at $1,202.32.

 

·         Fed’s Waller says the economy is ‘ready to rip’ but policy should stay put

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Friday he sees the U.S. economy as set to take off, though not at a fast enough pace that the central bank should start tightening policy.

“I think the economy is ready to rip,” Waller told CNBC’s Steve Liesman during a “Squawk on the Street” interview. “There’s still more to do on that, but I think everyone’s getting a lot more comfortable with having the virus under control and we’re starting to see it in the form of economic activity.”

·         Biden and Japan’s Suga project unity against China’s assertiveness 

 

·         CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:

The pandemic is reaching deadly new heights across the world, the WHO warned this week, even as the focus in some countries, including the U.S., has shifted toward how quickly to ease restrictions as vaccination figures eke upward.

 

·         South African variant may evade protection from Pfizer vaccine, Israeli study says

 

·         Thailand Covid Update: 1,767 new infections for Sunday. Provincial totals.

·         Bangkok is now a red zone. Government gives people today to get back from Songkran break.

 

·         Just more than half of U.S. adults have gotten at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose -CDC

 

·         UK scientists launch human challenge trial to study Covid reinfection

 

·         Australia to continue review of COVID vaccinations - health minister

Australia will continue its review of coronavirus vaccines after a 48-year-old woman's death was likely linked to the inoculation, Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Saturday.

On Friday, Australia reported its first fatality from blood clots in a recipient of AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) COVID-19 shot. It was the third case of the rare blood clots appearing in people who have been administered the vaccine in the country.

 

·         Canada has second case of rare blood clots after AstraZeneca vaccine

 

·         Guatemala blocks travel from Brazil, UK and South Africa in new COVID measure

 

·         Pfizer agreed to supply additional COVID-19 vaccines, says Japan's vaccine minister

 

·         IAEA confirms Iran has started enriching uranium to 60% purity

 

·         Iran, China say signs of progress at nuclear talks

The second round of talks began on Thursday in a luxury Vienna hotel. The United States, making a new diplomatic push in the Middle East under Joe Biden's administration, is not present as Iran has declined face-to-face negotiation.

However, European Union officials chairing the talks are carrying out shuttle diplomacy with a U.S. delegation based at another hotel across the road.

 

·         Israeli general who helped destroy Iraq, Syria nuclear plants says stopping Iran is much harder

 

·         Russia says it will retaliate hard against Czechs over diplomat expulsions

 

·         Vietnam's foreign ministry welcomes U.S. decision to drop FX manipulator label

 

·         Myanmar unity government says it must be part of any ASEAN bid to end crisis