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Gold fell more than 1% on Thursday as U.S. Treasury yields jumped on upbeat U.S. economic data, while a supply deficit lifted palladium to a fresh record peak, setting its sights on the $3,000 mark.

·         Spot gold fell 0.9% to $1,764.50 per ounce by 10:42 a.m. EDT (1442 GMT), hitting a low since April 15 at $1,755.81.

·         U.S. gold futures dropped 0.6% to $1,764.20.

·         “Rising bond yields and upbeat risk appetite is denting the safe haven metal,” said Kitco Metals senior analyst Jim Wyckoff.

 

“We are still in a near term price uptrend on the daily charts. However that price uptrend now is in some jeopardy... If prices can’t push above $1,800, let’s say in the next week or so, then prices will probably grind back sideways to lower.”

·         Benchmark 10-year note yields rose to a peak since April 13 on U.S. President Joe Biden’s proposal of trillions of dollars in new spending and data showing American economic growth accelerated in the first quarter.

·         Also making gold expensive for holders of other currencies was a rise in the dollar, which was up 0.2%.

·         Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq indexes opened at record highs, further dimming the precious metal’s appeal.

·         Auto-catalyst metal palladium scaled a peak of $2,981.99 per ounce, and was last up 0.2% at $2,932.31.

·         “The supply-demand dynamic remains incredibly positive for palladium... We’re looking at another supply deficit again this year,” said independent analyst Ross Norman.

 

“You might find palladium finding $3,000 as something of a challenge technically because there may be some sell orders up at those levels,” Norman added.

·         Platinum fell 2.9% to $1,183.77 per ounce.

·         Silver was 1.1% lower at $25.90.

 

·         Digital currency ether hits a record high, stealing bitcoin’s limelight

Ether hit an all-time high Thursday as bitcoin’s dominance of the cryptocurrency market declined.

The world’s second-largest digital currency by market value surged to a fresh record of $2,800 on Thursday morning, according to data from Coin Metrics. Bitcoin, the top digital coin, was slightly lower at a price of $54,471.

 

·         Job growth could surpass 1 million in April hiring boom as economy roars back

The economy could add more than 1 million jobs in April, economists say.

Hiring seems to have strengthened as businesses reopen, leading some economists to make big predictions for the number of jobs added during the month. The April employment report is expected on May 7.

 

·         Fiscal stimulus powers U.S. economic growth in first quarter

 

U.S. economic growth accelerated in the first quarter as the government gave money to mostly lower-income households, fueling consumer spending and setting the course for what is expected to be the strongest performance this year in nearly four decades.

The government largesse also extended to businesses, especially in the high-contact services industry. The massive fiscal stimulus and easing anxiety over COVID-19, with all adult Americans now eligible for vaccination against the virus, have resulted in a faster economic rebound in the United States compared to its global rivals.

The second-fastest gross domestic product growth since the third quarter of 2003, reported by the Commerce Department on Thursday, left output just 0.9% shy of its level at the end of 2019. Economists expect a full recovery from the pandemic recession, which started in February 2020, in late 2023.

The report is a boost for President Joe Biden as he celebrated 100 days in the White House.

GDP increased at a 6.4% annualized rate last quarter, the government said in its advance estimate for the first three months of the year. That followed a 4.3% growth rate in the fourth quarter. It was the biggest first-quarter increase in growth since 1984.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast GDP growth would increase at a 6.1% pace in the January-March period.

 

·         Biden’s declaration: America’s democracy ‘is rising anew’

 

·         Biden to unveil $1.8 trillion plan for children and families

President Joe Biden on Wednesday will pitch Congress on $1.8 trillion in new spending and tax credits aimed toward children, students and families, senior administration officials said.

Biden will unveil the massive new package less than a month after the White House issued a sweeping proposal to spend more than $2 trillion over eight years on infrastructure and other projects. Together, the plans comprise the Biden administration’s vision to overhaul the U.S. economy as the nation seeks to recover from, and look beyond, the coronavirus pandemic.

The new proposal, which includes about $1 trillion in investments and $800 billion in tax credits over a decade, will be fully offset in 15 years in part by raising the amount of taxes paid by the richest Americans, the White House said.

 

·         Biden wants to raise $1.5 trillion by taxing the rich.

Taxes may soon be going up for the wealthy.

President Joe Biden aims to fund expanded education, child care, paid leave and other reforms by collecting more tax revenue from Americans who make more than $400,000 a year.

He would do so by raising the top income and capital gains tax rates, changing the taxation of wealthy estates, closing so-called tax loopholes and focusing audits of the rich to prevent tax evasion.

All told, the American Families Plan would raise $1.5 trillion over a decade by taxing the highest earners, according to the White House.

A new top tax rate of 39.6%

Biden’s tax plan would raise the top income tax rate to 39.6%.

That was the highest rate before the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which lowered it to the current 37%.

The 39.6% rate would apply to the top 1% of Americans, according to the White House.

 

·         Biden calls for the U.S. to become more competitive against a ‘deadly earnest’ China

 

·         U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes $35 billion water infrastructure bill

 

·         Australia's bank profits seen doubling after COVID-19 hit

Three of Australia’s Big Four banks are set to unveil a more than doubling in interim profits, higher dividends and lower provisioning for bad debts next week, as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

- Westpac Banking Corp
- Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
- National Australia Bank (NAB)