· Gold prices edged lower on Tuesday to hover near a one-week low hit in the previous session, weighed down by a firm dollar and concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve will tighten its monetary policy sooner than expected.
· Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,774.30 per ounce by 0711 GMT, after marking its lowest since June 21 at $1,770.36 on Monday. U.S. gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,775.50.
· ED&F Man Capital Markets analyst Edward Meir said listless trading was seen in the gold market as some market participants were still confused over the Fed’s policy outlook.
· Several Fed policy makers have turned hawkish despite a weaker-than-expected U.S. inflation reading last week.
· The Fed has made “substantial further progress” towards its inflation goal in order to begin tapering asset purchases, Fed Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said.
· The dollar hovered below a two-month high against its rivals, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.
· However, Meir said, “the dollar will start to weaken again, because the landscape is clear on the rate (hike) front for at least another 18 months to two years.”
· Gold is seen as a hedge against inflation, though a Fed rate hike will increase the opportunity cost of holding bullion and dull its appeal.
· “Although having rebounded (from a selloff two weeks ago), gold has continued to trade below its 100-day moving average level,” OCBC said in a note.
· “We expect gold to resume its downward trend this week as risk sentiment firms and markets continue to look towards the prospects of tightening monetary conditions from the Fed.”
· Silver eased 0.3% to $26.02 per ounce, palladium slipped 0.3% to $2,678.11, and platinum shed 0.1% to $1,089.14.
· Fed's Kashkari says banks can't expect government to bail them out of every crisis - FT
Banks cannot expect the government to bail them out of every crisis and must increase their equity funding to protect against the next “unexpected shock,” Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari wrote in an op-ed for the Financial Times.
Kashkari wrote in the newspaper on Monday that the losses in the banking sector were far smaller than his analysis during the COVID-19 pandemic.
· U.S. eyes more stable, profitable ties with Russia, Blinken tells paper
The United States hopes for more stable and profitable relations with Russia but if the latter continues to "attack", then Washington will respond, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday.
"If Russia continues to attack us, or to act as it did with the SolarWind attacks, the intrusions into our elections and the aggression against Navalny, then we will respond," he told Italian daily La Repubblica.
· Chinese Communist Party awards medals in run-up to anniversary
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged Chinese Communist Party members to remain loyal and continue to serve the people, after awarding a new medal of the highest honour to 29 party members on Tuesday.
The party is marking the 100th year of its founding on Thursday, when Xi is expected to make a longer speech about its future.
· Japan's retail sales rise for 3rd month, but overall trend still soft
Japanese retail sales beat expectations in May as households loosened their purse strings, but underlying trends in consumption remain hostage to COVID-19-linked pressures and suggest the economic recovery will take time to gather steam.
As major global economies such as the United States rebound strongly from the COVID-19 slump, the weak growth rate in Japan is pressuring policymakers to take fresh supportive measures on top of the massive existing stimulus to boost demand.
Retail sales jumped 8.2% in May from a year earlier, the third straight month of growth, government data showed on Tuesday, a larger rise than the median market forecast for a 7.9% gain.
Despite the better-than-expected rise in retail sales, the jump was not strong enough to mark a definite shift towards a brighter outlook for spending conditions, said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.
· UK house prices jump by 13.4% in 12 months to June -Nationwide
British house prices rose by 13.4% in June compared with the same month last year, the biggest annual increase since November 2004, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Tuesday.
Pandemic boom drives UK house prices up by most since 2004
· Britain's 'freedom day' will come on July 19, says government
Britain will lift most of its remaining COVID-19 restrictions on July 19 in what has been dubbed "Freedom Day", the government said on Monday despite fears that an increase in coronavirus cases could lead to more deaths.
· Australia deputy leader fined for not wearing mask in breach of COVID-19 rules
· More Australian cities lock down amid outbreak of Delta virus variant
Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), reported a slight rise in COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, while officials tightened curbs and pushed for vaccinations to contain flare-ups of the highly infectious Delta variant.
Australia is fighting the Delta strain, first detected in India, in five of its eight states and territories, since the first case was found in NSW capital Sydney two weeks ago in a limousine driver who transported overseas airline crew.
· RBNZ says economy returning to pre-coronavirus levels
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) said on Tuesday economic activity was returning to pre-COVID-19 levels supported by favourable domestic health outcomes and improving global demand and higher prices for New Zealand’s goods and exports.
A pick-up in consumer spending and construction activity, supported by substantial monetary and fiscal stimulus was also underpinning employment growth, the central bank said in its annual statement of intent.
· Mixing Astra and Pfizer Shots Creates Strong Immune Response
Mixing doses of Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc creates a strong immune response, according to results from a University of Oxford study, a finding that could enable greater flexibility in the use of scarce supplies.
· Philippines extends coronavirus curbs until mid-July
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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