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·         Gold hovered on Thursday close to a more than four-month peak it scaled in the previous session, fueled by a dip in the dollar and U.S. yields as investors shrugged off the Federal Reserve’s hints on possible tapering of economic support measures.

 

·         Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1,880.22 per ounce by 1:43 p.m. EDT (1743 GMT). U.S. gold futures settled little changed at $1,881.90.

 

·         Fed minutes showed “a number” of officials thought that if the recovery holds up, it might be appropriate to “begin discussing a plan for adjusting the pace of asset purchases.”

 

·         Wednesday’s Fed minutes were “effectively the first introduction of official talk of tapering ... (but) gold is up, driven by the fact that we’ve seen yields and the dollar reverse a little bit,” said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities.

 

·         “The view out there is though the Fed was talking about tapering, in reality, it’s very unlikely that we’re going to have an imminent reduction in monetary accommodation,” Melek added.

 

·         Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields eased, while the dollar dropped, making bullion cheaper for holders of other currencies.

 

·         An eventual monetary tightening by the Fed will take the sheen off bullion’s appeal as it translates into a higher opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset.

 

·         Gold’s gains came despite a drop in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits.

 

·         Inflation expectations are working in favor of the metals market, said Kitco Metals senior analyst Jim Wyckoff.

 

·         “A problematic price inflation has been a bullish element for the metals markets because then investors will buy hard assets like the metals as a hedge against inflation,” Wyckoff added.

 

 

 

·         Gold is still relatively cheap and could surge back toward its all-time high, strategist says

Gold is still a “relatively cheap” investment opportunity and could keep rising even if it soon topped $1,900 per troy ounce, one strategist said Thursday.

TD Securities head of global strategy Richard Kelly told CNBC’s “Street Signs Europe” that “gold had a phenomenal run-up over the course of last year, and when that reversed, I think it scared a few investors off.”

Kelly also noted gold’s relation to the U.S. dollar. Since gold is typically priced in dollars, any fall in the greenback could lead to higher gold prices.

Kelly believes that the dollar — and even other major currencies like the euro — were now looking “rich” on a relative basis, suggesting a possible dip against the price of gold.

 

JPMorgan said institutional investors were ditching bitcoin in favor of gold. The cryptocurrency had started to gain a reputation as a kind of “digital gold,” offering protection from inflation.

 

·         Among other precious metals, palladium eased 0.1% to $2,866.67 per ounce, silver rose 0.5% to $27.90, while platinum climbed 0.9% to $1,201.96.

 

·         IMF unveils plans to include climate, digital tech into economic assessments

 

·         Bitcoin wipes out comeback gains, turns negative amid regulation fears

Bitcoin erased its gains and dipped into negative territory on Thursday amid news that the Treasury Department is setting forth its crackdown efforts.

The world’s largest digital currency last traded 0.7% lower below $39,000. Earlier in the session, bitcoin bounced back 9% above $42,000, according to Coin Metrics.

Bitcoin turned red after the Treasury Department said it is taking steps to crack down on cryptocurrency markets and transactions, and said it will require any transfer worth $10,000 or more to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.

Some of bitcoin’s newer alternatives also pared gains after the headline. Ether last traded up 3% after jumping 13% earlier. Dogecoin, a meme-inspired crypto that has been talked up by Elon Musk, gained 7% after surging 17% to 42 cents following a tweet from the Tesla CEO.

 

·         EU parliament freezes China deal ratification until Beijing lifts sanctions

The European Parliament halted on Thursday ratification of a new investment pact with China until Beijing lifts sanctions on EU politicians, deepening a dispute in Sino-European relations and denying EU companies greater access to China.

·         Japan panel gives Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines the green light