· Gold edged lower on Friday, as optimism around a swift economic recovery lifted appeal for riskier assets, although a weaker dollar and growing inflationary pressure limited losses and kept bullion on track for a third straight weekly rise.
· Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,872.21 per ounce by 0126 GMT, but it has risen 1.6% this week.
· U.S. gold futures fell 0.4% to $1,873.70 per ounce.
· The dollar was pinned near milestone lows against its rivals and was headed for a weekly loss. A weaker greenback makes gold more appealing for other currency holders.
· Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields fell to 1.6340% overnight. Lower bond yields reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing gold.
· Risk sentiment in wider financial markets remained upbeat after strong U.S. jobs data lifted hopes around a quick economic recovery.
· Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped further below 500,000 last week.
· Japan’s core consumer prices slid for the ninth straight month in April, as a record slump in cellphone fees offset rising energy prices.
· Britain’s economy will grow much faster than expected this year as a fast-moving coronavirus vaccine program allows businesses to re-open and lifts confidence, a Reuters poll found.
· SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.6% to 1,037.09 tonnes on Thursday from 1,031.27 tonnes on Wednesday.
· Palladium gained 0.5% to $2,865.73 per ounce, silver eased 0.1% to $27.72, while platinum edged 0.4% higher to $1,200.57.
· UK retail sales jump 9.2% in April as shops reopen
· Britain's Nationwide almost doubles profit as costs fall
· EU Signs Contract with Pfizer for 1.8 Billion Additional Vaccine Doses
The European Union Thursday announced it has signed a third contract with Pfizer-BioNTech for an additional 1.8 billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, running from the end of this year through 2022.
· Japan's consumer prices extend falls as cellphone fee cuts offset input costs
The core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes the effect of volatile fresh food costs, fell 0.1% in April from a year earlier, smaller than a median market forecast for a 0.2% drop, government data showed on Friday and in line with March's decline.
A record 26.5% in cellphone charges knocked 0.5% off core CPI, the data showed, as carriers heeded Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's calls to ease the burden on households.
· S.Korea approves Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine
· India's Covid-19 vaccine output likely to fall short of target, sources say
India's output of Covid-19 shots for August to December is likely to be lower than the government's public estimate, according to internal projections shared with Reuters by two sources.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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