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Gold extended its rally, jumping more than 1% to its best week since November last year after an unexpected drop in U.S. jobs growth in April hastened a retreat in the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields.

·         U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by only 266,000 jobs last month, falling short of expectations, with employers likely frustrated by labor shortages as the economy reopens.

·         Spot gold rose 0.84% to $1,830.41 per ounce by 2:03 p.m EDT (1803 GMT) and was up 3.5% so far this week, its best since November 2020.

·         U.S. gold futures settled up 0.9% at $1,831.30.

·         “This report at least temporarily throws some cold water on notions the Federal Reserve may be forced to raise interest rates much sooner than many expected,” Kitco Metals senior analyst Jim Wyckoff said in a note.

·         “Gold’s short-term momentum could make a run towards the $1,857 level, which could be followed by a move towards the $1,925 resistance level,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA said in a note.

 

·         SPDR GOLD HOLDINGS:

 

 

·         Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD closes below $1840 amid disappointing NFP, 200-DMA still in sight

Disappointing US jobs reports reinforced the dovish Fed expectations of ‘lower rates for longer', smashing the dollar alongside the Treasury yields. However, gold eased off multi-month highs into the weekly closing, as the US rates reversed the NFP-led losses amid the Wall Street surge.

Despite the retracement, the price of gold remains set to recapture the 200-DMA at $1852. In the week ahead, gold traders look forward to the US CPI and Retail Sales data for fresh hints on the economy. Meanwhile, a slew of Fedspeak will be also closely followed.

Gold (XAU/USD) is holding the higher ground, closing in on the three-month highs of $1822 reached earlier in the Asian session. The price of gold is up nearly 3% this week, on track to register the best week in six months. The bearish undertone in the US dollar and Treasury yields, especially after the latest dovish comments from the Fed policymakers, continue to offer support to gold.

 

·         Waning physical demand in India remained a potential headwind, with the second biggest bullion consumer reeling from a worsening pandemic.

 

·         “Lockdown in India does not help physical demand,” StoneX analyst Rhona O’Connell said.

“But all these fundamental physical flows, while they contribute to inflexion points and corrections, are ultimately dwarfed by professional money movements.”

 

·         Palladium eased 0.7% to $2,925.15, having hitting an all-time high of $3,017.18 earlier this week.

·         Silver rose 0.4% to $27.41 per ounce, set for a 5.8% weekly gain.

·         Platinum dipped 0.2% to $1,250.48.

 

·         Dogecoin plunges nearly 30% during Elon Musk’s SNL appearance

Wall Street wasn’t expecting the dip.

Dogecoin loses third of price after Elon Musk calls it a 'hustle' on 'SNL'

Asked ‘what is dogecoin’, Musk replied, “It’s the future of currency. It’s an unstoppable financial vehicle that’s going to take over the world.”

When a show cast member Michael Che countered, “So, it’s a hustle?”, Musk replied, “Yeah, it’s a hustle,” and laughed.

·         U.S. hiring takes big step back as businesses scramble for workers, raw materials

U.S. job growth unexpectedly slowed in April, likely curbed by shortages of workers and raw materials as rapidly improving public health and massive government aid fueled an economic boom.

The Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls increased by just 266,000 in April, far less than the 1 million total economists were expecting, according to Dow Jones. The unemployment rate rose to 6.1% last month amid an escalating shortage of available workers, higher than an expectation of 5.8%. Meanwhile, March’s originally estimated total of 916,000 was revised down to 770,000.

 

·         U.S. has long way to go to recover from pandemic -commerce secretary

Many Americans are still struggling to return to work after the coronavirus pandemic and last week’s lower-than-expected jobs numbers were a reflection of that, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Sunday.

“I think we have a long way to go to recover from the pandemic,” Raimondo said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” program. “There are so many Americans still struggling” and 8 million fewer jobs than there were before the pandemic, she said.

U.S. job growth unexpectedly slowed last month, likely restrained by shortages of workers and raw materials. Nonfarm payrolls increased by only 266,000 jobs, well below the nearly 1 million jobs economists expected and a sharp contrast to steady increases in growth from January to March.

 

·         China urges U.N. states not to attend Xinjiang human rights event, warns of more confrontation

China has urged United Nations member states not to attend an event planned next week by Germany, the United States and Britain on the repression of Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang, according to a note seen by Reuters on Friday.

 

·         Commerzbank CEO strikes deal with workers for 10,000 job cuts

Commerzbank Chief Executive Manfred Knof has struck a deal with employees over a job reduction plan, paving the way for the German bank to cut 10,000 jobs globally.

 

·         CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:
COVID-19 infections are still rising in 31 countries.

·         Global Vaccination:

So far, at least 179 countries have begun vaccinating people for the coronavirus and have administered at least 1,281,143,000 doses of the vaccine.

Gibraltar leads the world and has administered enough vaccine doses for 109% of its population, assuming every person needs two doses.

 

·         U.S. wants COVID vaccine patent waiver to benefit world, not boost China biotech

The Biden administration is examining ways to ensure that a waiver of COVID-19 vaccine patents to aid poor countries will not hand sensitive U.S. biopharmaceutical technology to China and Russia, responding to a chorus of concerns, U.S. and industry officials say.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday backed the U.S. entering negotiations at the World Trade Organization for the waiver of intellectual property rights as a means to boost vaccine supplies by allowing poorer countries to make their own.

 

EU sceptical on vaccine waiver, but ready to discuss proposal

The European Union is sceptical about the usefulness of waiving patent rights to COVID-19 vaccines as a way to fight the pandemic, but is ready to discuss a concrete proposal, the chairman of EU leaders Charles Michel said on Saturday.

 

·         EU agrees potential 1.8 billion-dose purchase of Pfizer jab

The European Union cemented its support for Pfizer-BioNTech and its novel COVID-19 vaccine technology Saturday by agreeing to a massive contract extension for a potential 1.8 billion doses through 2023.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted that her office “has just approved a contract for a guaranteed 900 million doses (+900 million options).”

The new contract, which has the backing of the EU member states, will entail not only the production of the vaccines, but also making sure that all the essential components should be sourced from the EU.

 

·         EU has not yet ordered more AstraZeneca vaccines, says internal market commissioner

The European Union has not yet made any new orders for AstraZeneca vaccines beyond June when their contract ends, European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said on Sunday.

Breton also said he expected that the costs of the EU's recent order for more doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines would be higher than the earlier versions.

 

·         WHO approves Covid vaccine made by China’s Sinopharm for emergency use

The state-owned drugmaker’s two-dose Covid shot has already been approved for emergency use in China, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Another Chinese shot, made by the private company Sinovac, has not yet been approved by the WHO.

In the U.S., vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have received emergency use authorizations by the Food and Drug Administration.

The WHO has granted emergency validation for those three shots, as well as for vaccines produced by Astrazeneca-SK BIO and the Serum Institute of India.

 

·         UK reveals ‘green list’ of nations England residents can visit quarantine-free

British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps revealed on Friday the “green list” of countries that residents of England will soon be allowed to visit without having to quarantine on their return.

Travel has been tightly restricted during the most severe months of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. But from May 17, people in England will be allowed to visit certain countries, although some restrictions will still apply.

Twelve countries will be on England’s so-called “green list.” Travelers to these countries will need to be tested pre-departure and on their return. But they will not need to quarantine on their return.

The 12 countries are:

Portugal, Israel, Gibraltar, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, St. Helena, Tristan de Cunha, Ascension Island

 

·         New Zealand to resume Australia "travel bubble" as Sydney COVID threat eases

 

·         Thailand set to boost COVID-19 vaccinations, expects to approve Moderna shots

 

·         EU and India agree to resume trade talks at virtual summit

The European Union and India agreed to resume stalled free-trade negotiations and seek closer cooperation to combat climate change at a virtual summit on Saturday, as concerns about China bring Brussels and New Delhi closer

 

·         Israel and South Korea to sign free trade pact

 

·         Myanmar’s junta approves $2.8 bln investment, including gas power plant