· Gold prices on Wednesday retreated from a near five-month high marked in the previous session, as an uptick in bond yields weighed on the safe-haven metal while strong U.S. economic data prompted the shift back into riskier assets.
Fundamentals
· Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,898.58 per ounce, as of 0053 GMT, after hitting its highest since Jan.8 at $1,916.40 on Tuesday.
· U.S. gold futures eased 0.2% to $1,901.90 per ounce.
· Data showed that U.S. manufacturing activity picked up in May as pent-up demand in a reopening economy boosted orders. But unfinished work piled up because of shortages of raw materials and labor.
· The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose to a more than one-week high overnight, increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing gold.
· Risk sentiment in wider finical markets remained upbeat as investors weighed the latest U.S. economic data for signs of a rebound and higher inflation reading.
· Euro zone inflation surged past the European Central Bank’s elusive target in May, heightening a communications challenge for policymakers who will happily live with higher prices for now, but may face a backlash from irate consumers.
· Higher inflation is compounding the plight of savers and the ECB should respond by raising its interest rates from 0%, Bavaria’s Finance Minister Albert Fueracker told daily Bild in comments published on Wednesday.
· Market participants’ focus this week will be on U.S. payrolls data due on Friday for further clarity on economic recovery and near-term Federal Reserve policy action.
· SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.3% to 1,045.83 tonnes on Tuesday from 1,043.21 tonnes on Friday.
· Palladium fell 0.1% to $2,856.82 per ounce, silver edged 0.1% lower to $27.88, and platinum was steady at $1,191.51.
· Japan may see inflation perk up in post-COVID era, says BOJ board member
A post-coronavirus pandemic world could offer an opportunity for Japanese firms to raise prices and help the central bank achieve its 2% inflation target, Bank of Japan board member Seiji Adachi said on Wednesday.
But there was little the BOJ can do besides "patiently" sustaining its massive stimulus, Adachi said, offering the most candid comment to date by a BOJ policymaker on the central bank's dwindling ammunition to prop up growth and inflation.
· Australia’s economy booms to pre-pandemic levels as consumers, businesses spend
Australia’s economy raced ahead last quarter as consumers and businesses spent with abandon, lifting output back above where it was last year when pandemic lockdowns tipped the country into its first recession in three decades.
The economy expanded by a real 1.8% in the three months to March, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed on Wednesday. Economists in a Reuters poll had forecast a 1.5% rise following an upwardly revised 3.2% gain in the fourth quarter.
· Australia's Victoria extends Melbourne COVID-19 lockdown for 2nd week
· India will likely see double-digit growth this quarter, but economists warn it’s not the full picture
India is expected to see double-digit expansion in the three months ending in June — but economists warn that the data won’t be painting the full picture of the country’s growth trajectory.
South Asia’s largest economy released fourth quarter GDP data Monday that showed an expansion of 1.6% from the same period a year ago, driven mostly by state spending and manufacturing sector growth. Full year GDP is estimated to have contracted 7.3% compared to a 4% growth in the previous year.
· Israel sees probable link between Pfizer vaccine and myocarditis cases
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