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Gold prices steadied in a relatively tight range on Monday as investors awaited policy cues from the Federal Reserve’s meeting this week, while deficit-stricken palladium scaled a record peak.

·         Spot gold was up 0.1% to $1,778.50 per ounce,
having hit near a one-week low of $1,768.15.

·         U.S. gold futures settled 0.13% higher at $1,780.1.

·         “The (gold) market just wants to get past FOMC to see what they have to say about inflation before it does make a move in either direction,” said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.

·         Traders would also focus on the U.S. central bank’s long-term outlook on interest rates and “their plan of action on short-term rates,” Haberkorn added.

·         The two-day Fed meeting is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, with investors’ attention focused particularly on what Fed Chair Jerome Powell will say in his post-meeting news conference on Wednesday.

 

·         The dollar and U.S. Treasury yields were steady.

The dollar index was down slightly at 90.828, partly recovering from an eight-week low.

 

·         Commodity prices surge. Analyzing inflationary red flags

Tom Lydon of ETF Trends, Mark Yusko of Morgan Creek Capital Management and Steve Grasso of Stuart Frankel weigh inflation risks. With CNBC’s Leslie Picker.

 

·         Bullion has dropped about 6% so far this year, mostly pressured by rising U.S. yields. “A break above the $1,800 level, however, may probably require the 10Y yield to trade below 1.55%,” analysts at OCBC said in a note.

·         Palladium extended its record-setting streak, rising 1.8% to $2,906.03 an ounce after earlier hitting an all-time high of $2,941.

·         The metal, used in emissions-reducing catalysts in automobiles, has risen about 19% so far this year.

“The (palladium) price is finding tailwind from the prospect of a renewed supply deficit,” Commerzbank analysts said in a note.

“This (higher price) is the result of robust demand from the automotive industry due to tougher emissions regulations for cars with combustion engines coupled with reduced supply.”

·         Silver rose 0.5% to $26.13 per ounce.

·         Platinum edged 0.2% higher to $1,232.12.

·         Bitcoin extends gain on reports of JPMorgan fund

Bitcoin soared nearly 10% on Monday, after five straight days of losses, on reports that JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) is planning to offer a managed bitcoin fund.

 

·         U.S. Durable Goods Orders Rise Much Less Than Expected In March

A report released by the Commerce Department on Monday showed new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods increased by much less than expected in the month of March.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders rose by 0.5 percent in March after falling by a revised 0.9 percent in February.

 

·         U.S. business spending on equipment ends first quarter on strong note

New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods rose solidly in March and shipments surged, cementing expectations that economic growth accelerated in the first quarter as massive government aid and improving public health boosted demand.

 

·         White House says capital gains tax would hit 0.3% of taxpayers

 

·         U.S. bank appetite for Treasuries unfazed after Fed ends regulatory relief

U.S. banks’ demand for Treasury securities has not dimmed, contrary to expectations, since the Federal Reserve let expire a waiver to a capital adequacy regulation granted early in the pandemic, even as firms seek to raise more capital via debt issuance instead.

 

·         As Bank of Canada turns hawkish, investors retool for higher rates outlook

Investors in Canada are shunning interest-rate sensitive stocks, seeking inflation protection and betting on a steeper yield curve as the Bank of Canada leads global central banks in shifting to a more hawkish stance.

Canada's central bank on Wednesday signaled it could hike interest rates as soon as next year and cut the pace of bond purchases, becoming one of the first major central banks to reduce stimulus.

Investors say they have been adjusting portfolios for some time to prepare for a higher rates outlook, but the BoC's move has reinforced the focus on such an outcome.

 

·         Analysis: Fed's 'maximum employment' push may fall short in post-pandemic economy

The Federal Reserve has promised to help restore the U.S. economy to "maximum employment," and is pointing to the months just before the coronavirus pandemic as the touchstone for what that might mean.

 

·         German business morale improves less than expected in April

German business morale improved by less than expected in April as a third wave of COVID-19 infections and supply problems with components in the industrial sector slowed a recovery in Europe’s largest economy, a survey showed on Monday.

The Ifo institute said its business climate index edged up to 96.8 from 96.6 in March. A Reuters poll of analysts had pointed to a bigger increase to 97.8.

Companies raised their assessment of the current business situation once again, but they were less optimistic about the coming six months, the survey showed.

The business climate in manufacturing improved further to reach its highest level in nearly three years, with industrial companies reporting full order books and humming factories.

 

·         South Korea Q1 GDP beats expectations on investment, export bounce

South Korea’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, expanding 1.6% from the previous quarter, data from the Bank of Korea showed on Tuesday.

That was faster than a revised 1.2% expansion in the final three months of 2020 and a median forecast for 1.0% growth in a Reuters poll.

 

·         Coronavirus Updates:

COVID-19 infections are still rising in 57 countries.

 

Global Cases: 148.46M (+671,223)

Global Deaths: 3.13M (+10,750)

 

No. 1 - 3

U.S. Cases: 32.87M (+46,745)

U.S. Deaths: 586,597 (+441)

 

India Cases: 17.62M (+319,435)

India Deaths: 197,880 (+2,764)

 

Brazil Cases: 14.37M (+29,669)

Brazil Deaths: 392,204 (+1,279)

 

No.105

Thailand Cases: 57,508 (+2,048)

Thailand Deaths: 148 (+8)

 

 

·         New U.S. COVID cases fall sharply last week, deaths lowest since October

New cases of COVID-19 in the United States fell 16% last week to about 409,000, the biggest percentage drop in weekly new cases since February, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county data.

Deaths from COVID-19 fell 4% to 4,972 in the week ended April 25, dropping below 5,000 for the first time since October.

  

·         U.S. to share up to 60 mln AstraZeneca vaccine doses globally -White House

 

·         EU launches legal action against AstraZeneca due to vaccine shortages

The European Union confirmed Monday it’s taking legal action against AstraZeneca over shortfalls in the deliveries of its coronavirus vaccine.

“Our priority is to ensure Covid-19 vaccine deliveries take place to protect the health of European Union,” the EU’s commissioner for health, Stella Kyriakides, said Monday via Twitter.

 

·         British Airways CEO says 'great opportunity' for UK-U.S. travel

The chief executive of British Airways said there was a "great opportunity" for Britain and the United States to open a travel corridor given their high vaccination rates, and said he was optimistic for European travel from June onwards.

 

·         India sends army to help hospitals hit by COVID-19 as countries promise aid

India ordered its armed forces on Monday to help tackle surging new coronavirus infections that are overwhelming hospitals, as countries including Britain, Germany and the United States pledged to send urgent medical aid. In a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said oxygen would be released to hospitals from armed forces reserves and retired medical military personnel would join COVID-19 health facilities.

 

·         Bengaluru, facing India's second-highest COVID-19 surge, to enter lockdown

The city of Bengaluru, home to the technology operations of hundreds of global companies, is to enter a two-week lockdown as India battles a sharp surge in COVID-19 infections, officials said on Monday.

 

·         French restaurants to reopen in staggered manner - Macron

French restaurants will reopen in a staggered fashion and on a regional basis, depending on the extent to which the COVID-19 epidemic is brought under control, President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday.

 

·         Turkey announces "full lockdown" from April 29 to curb COVID spread

Turks will be required to stay mostly at home under a nationwide "full lockdown" starting on Thursday and lasting until May 17 to curb a surge in coronavirus infections and deaths, President Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday.

 

·         Latin America's vaccine shortage threatens fragile revival as pandemic rages

Latin Americans, hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, are struggling to get vaccinated, a threat to the region's fragile economic recovery as lockdowns tighten amid a dangerous surge of infections and rising death tolls.

 

·         Thailand starts stricter COVID-19 shutdown, but experts say not enough

Thailand’s government slapped restrictions on travel from India on Monday over concerns of imported coronavirus cases and closed more venues in Bangkok, even as it came under fire for not doing enough to contain a spike in infections.

The government has ordered parks, gyms, cinemas and day-care centres in its capital, the epicentre of the latest wave of infections, to shut from April 26 until May 9.

But unlike last year, malls and restaurants have been allowed to operate with earlier closing times, fuelling concerns this could quickly lead to more infection clusters and prompting calls for the resignation of the country's health minister.