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Gold edged lower choppy trading on Thursday, as mixed cues from U.S. Federal Reserve officials on the approach the central bank could take to withdraw stimulus kept investors wary.

·         Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,776.65 per ounce by 2:15 p.m. EDT (1815 GMT), reversing some gains from earlier in the session as the dollar recouped initial declines.

·         U.S. gold futures settled 0.4% lower at $1,776.70.

 

·         SPDR GOLD HOLDINGS:

·         A day after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said interest rates would not be raised too quickly and that inflation wouldn’t be the only determinant of policy, two Fed officials said on Wednesday inflation may persist longer than anticipated, with one official predicting a rate hike in late 2022.

 

·         Alex Turro, senior market strategist at RJO Futures said concerns over potential rate hikes and tapering of asset purchases from the Fed were still weighing on sentiment in the gold market and should continue to do so, until the market gets more clarity on policy.

 

Turro added that higher yields were also a headwind for bullion prices.

 

·         Higher yields tend to increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

 

·         TD Securities commodity strategist Daniel Ghali also said that physical gold purchases in top hubs India and China could remain weak in the near term, further pressuring the market.

 

·         Bullion investors also largely ignored data that showed a dip in initial claims for U.S state unemployment benefits and a 6.4% annualized increase in gross domestic product last quarter.

 

·         Silver gained 0.4% to $25.97 per ounce.

·         Platinum rose 0.9% to $1,093.59.

·         Palladium was up 1.2% at $2,644.94.

 

·         Higher automobile output once an ongoing chip shortage ends and solid economic growth resumes could drive prices of autocatalyst platinum higher over the next 12 months, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said in a note, forecasting end-December prices at $1,250.

 

·         Copper prices slip on U.S. inflation jitters

Copper fell for the first time this week on Thursday as mixed signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve triggered investor jitters about the timing of interest rate increases, which could sap demand for metals.

Three-month benchmark copper was down 0.6% at $9,429 per tonne by 1615 GMT. Prices for the metal used in the power and construction industries have eased about 12% from a record high of $10,747.50 a tonne reached in May.

 

·         US jobless claims tick down to 411,000 as economy heals

The Labor Department said Thursday that jobless claims fell just 7,000 from the previous week to 411,000. Weekly claims have fallen steadily this year from about 900,000 in January.

 

·         U.S. jobless claims dropping faster in states ending federal benefit

Ongoing claims for U.S. unemployment insurance have dipped faster in recent weeks in states ending federal benefits this summer than in states keeping the $300 weekly supplement in place until the fall, according to government data through last week.

·         Fed's Bullard warns may be more inflation risk to come

Inflation may be even stronger in coming months than Federal Reserve policymakers currently expect as the U.S. recovery likely gains steam in the fall and a global recovery follows, St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard said on Thursday.

That could push the level of prices beyond what is needed to account for recent years of inflation below the Fed’s 2% target, and presented a “new risk” that Fed officials will have to consider in coming months.

 

·         Fed's Barkin: not at full employment, inflation rise temporary

While measures of U.S. inflation have surged and businesses are having a hard time finding workers, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin predicted on Thursday that neither condition will last.

True full employment is still “somewhere down the road,” Barkin told the Richmond Risk Management Association in a virtual event, with Americans likely to flood back to the workforce in the fall.

 

·         Banks clear Fed stress test; paving way to boost buybacks, dividends

 

·         Federal Reserve gives U.S. banks a thumbs-up as all 23 lenders easily pass 2021 stress test

 

·         Credit Suisse predicts global growth of 5.9% for 2021, says stocks to outperform other asset classes

 

·         Democrats' two-step infrastructure plan draws Republican ire

·         U.S. infrastructure deal includes $6 billion sale from oil reserve -document

The infrastructure deal struck by a group of bipartisan senators and President Joe Biden on Thursday includes partial funding by a proposed $6 billion sale from the U.S. emergency oil reserve, according to a document circulated by Republican lawmakers.

·         U.S. Treasury's Yellen to attend G20 finance, climate meetings in Italy

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will attend the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Venice, Italy, on July 9-10 to press U.S. policy priorities on taxes, climate change and an inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Treasury said on Thursday.

 

·         U.S. says ban on Chinese firm's solar products will not slow clean energy progress

 

·         U.S. House committee due to consider sweeping China bill next week

The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee has scheduled a meeting on Wednesday to consider sweeping legislation to boost economic competitiveness and push Beijing on human rights, part of an ongoing effort in Congress to address competition with China.

 

·         German economy minister: EU, U.S. can resolve dispute over metals tariffs by year-end

 

·         Russia warns Britain it will bomb ships next time

Russia warned Britain on Thursday that it would bomb British naval vessels in the Black Sea if there were any further provocative actions by the British navy off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea.

Russia summoned the British ambassador in Moscow for a formal diplomatic scolding after the warship breached what the Kremlin says are its territorial waters but which Britain and most of the world say belong to Ukraine.

 

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:

·         UK's COVID-19 test-and-trace system still missing targets-watchdog

 

·         Singapore to expand its vaccination campaign to everyone 12 and older on July 2