Gold hit nearly a four-month peak on Tuesday before easing slightly as yields on U.S. Treasuries inched higher, with a weaker dollar and inflation fears maintaining a floor under bullion prices.
· Spot gold was up 0.1% to $1,868.57 per ounce by 1:47 p.m. EDT (1747 GMT) after hitting its highest level since Jan. 29 earlier in the session.
· U.S. gold futures settled at $1,868, largely unchanged from Monday.
· “Yields just picked up just a notch,” said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago.
“The weaker dollar has provided most of the support. (But) gold has had a pretty good run, but it’s not in a bullish market at all.”
· The dollar index fell to near a three-month low, making gold cheaper for holders of other currencies.
· “The narrative is clearly shifting towards inflation ... but perhaps more critically, you have got the U.S. dollar weakness, which is probably the key and prime driver,” said Ross Norman, an independent analyst.
· Analysts also noted that inflows into gold exchange-traded-funds indicated investors were buying the precious metal to hedge against inflation worries.
· In the wake of rising prices in the United States, the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting are expected to provide more clarity on its monetary policy outlook and policymakers’ views on inflation. The U.S. central bank is due to release the minutes on Wednesday.
· “Fed will not be tempted to rock the boat in terms of the recovery which is gathering some momentum. Raising rates or discussion on tapering would probably be counterproductive at this stage,” Norman said.
· Gold is also getting support from chart-based buyers after bullion broke above its 200-day moving average, considered to be a bullish signal.
· Elsewhere, silver rose 0.3% to $28.26 per ounce after hitting its highest level since Feb. 2 in the session.
· Palladium rose 0.1% to $2,904.87 per ounce.
· U.S. trade chief Tai urges Canada, Mexico to enforce new North American trade deal
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Tuesday urged her Mexican and Canadian counterparts to work together to “implement, enforce and fulfill the terms” of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to maintain political support for the new trade deal.
· Senate Democrat proposes $52 billion for U.S. chips production, R&D
U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled revised bipartisan legislation late Tuesday to approve $52 billion to significantly boost U.S. semiconductor chip production and research over five years.
· Fed's Quarles says strong economic recovery underway, but not yet complete
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles will tell lawmakers a strong economic recovery is underway in the United States, but is not yet complete.
· Senate Republicans do not offer Biden officials new infrastructure plan
U.S. Republican lawmakers met on Tuesday with top officials from President Joe Biden's administration to seek common ground on an infrastructure proposal but said they did not present a new plan of their own.
Senators who attended the meeting with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said they discussed how infrastructure investment would be paid for.
Republicans slam Biden administration on report of Nord Stream sanctions waivers
· Pelosi calls for U.S. and world leaders to boycott China's 2022 Olympics
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday called for a U.S. diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, criticizing China for human rights abuses and saying that global leaders who attend would lose their moral authority
Crypto bulls have long championed bitcoin as a modern-day replacement for gold, and by one measure, the new market is already close to surpassing bullion in that respect.
The total value of the cryptocurrency market now stands above $2 trillion, putting it on nearly equal footing with the amount of gold held for private investment purposes, according to a new report from Bernstein.
“Investors need to find return streams that can hedge debasement risk and be a diversifier of equity risk at higher levels of inflation. These assets [cryptocurrencies] might have the potential to perform that function,” the firm said Tuesday in a note to clients.
China has banned financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions, and warned investors against speculative crypto trading.
The Biden administration gave investors two more weeks to buy or sell securities in certain companies it says are tied to the Chinese military, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a notice posted on its website on Tuesday.
Investors now have until 9:30 a.m. (1330 GMT) on June 11 to compete their transactions, the department said. The previous deadline was May 27.
· Pelosi calls for U.S. and world leaders to boycott China's 2022 Olympics
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday called for a U.S. diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, criticizing China for human rights abuses and saying that global leaders who attend would lose their moral authority.
· CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:
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JPMorgan Chase & Co told employees on Tuesday it will not require fully vaccinated staff to wear masks at its U.S.-based offices, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.
· Algeria cancels plan to reopen land borders
· Top FDA official says fully vaccinated people could need Covid booster shots within a year
· Singapore approves Covid vaccine for children ages 12 to 15 as cases surge
· Algeria cancels plan to reopen land borders
The coronavirus variant that first emerged in India could become the dominant strain of the virus in the U.K. in a matter of days and could pose unknown dangers, scientists have warned.
· India's halt to vaccine exports 'very problematic' for Africa
An extended halt to exports of COVID-19 vaccines from India, where authorities are battling a wave of domestic infections, risks derailing vaccination efforts already underway in Africa, one of the continent’s top health officials said on Tuesday.
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