· Gold prices inched up on Friday, on concerns over the spread of delta variant of the novel coronavirus, while investors awaited U.S. non-farm payrolls data that could influence the timeline of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy shift.
· Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,778.26 per ounce, by 0305 GMT. It has fallen 0.1% so far this week. U.S. gold futures added 0.1% to $1,778.50.
· “The spread of the delta variant is supporting gold as it can delay economic recovery... (however) the medium-term outlook remains bearish biased because we’re embracing the start of the tapering cycle,” said Margaret Yang, a strategist at DailyFX.
· The highly contagious delta variant has made countries in Asia and Europe walk back on reopening plans, while White House said it would send out special teams to hot spots around the country to combat the contagion.
· Investors’ focus is on U.S. non-farm payrolls data due at 1230 GMT which is likely to show an increase of 690,000 jobs last month, as per a Reuters poll.
· A print of one million or more in the non-farm payrolls report can expedite Fed’s policy tapering and rate-hike plans, Yang said.
· U.S. private payrolls and jobless claims data this week has shown the labor market is gathering speed as the economy fully reopens.
· The dollar held near three-month highs, making gold expensive for other currency holders.
· Several Fed members have said in recent weeks that the central bank could start discussing tapering in the coming months. While a “taper tantrum” poses a downside risk to gold, inflation worries will support prices in the near term, Fitch Solutions said in a note.
· Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD to tackle the $1800 level on NFP disappointment
Gold price is holding onto the recent gains in the lead-up to the NFP showdown. As FXStreet’s Dhwani Mehta notes, the 100-day moving average at $1790 remains a tough nut to crack for XAU/USD bulls.
XAU/USD struggles below $1780, awaiting fresh trading impetus
“The US economy is expected to add 69K jobs in June after the terrible 559K numbers seen in May. The Unemployment Rate is seen dropping to 5.7% last month. Encouraging headline NFP data could bolster the Fed’s hawkish expectations, which could have a significant negative impact on gold price.”
“Ahead of the critical data release, gold price could maintain its range play below the $1800 mark, as investors refrain from placing any big directional bets on the precious metal.”
“On an NFP blowout, gold price could reverse its uptrend and drop back towards the $1751 support area. Ahead of that the previous week’s low at $1761 could offer some support to the bullish traders.”
“A data disappointment could possibly pour cold water on the Fed’s tapering and tightening expectations, in turn, offering extra zest to gold bulls. The 100-Daily Moving Average (DMA) at $1790 will emerge as the first critical upside hurdle to clear.
A daily closing above the latter could negate the bearish near-term outlook, opening gates for a test of the $1800 threshold. The next relevant upside target appears at the downward-pointing 21-DMA at $1818.”
· Silver rose 0.2% to $26.05 per ounce, while platinum gained 0.3% to $1,085.64.
· Palladium was steady at $2,762.75, and was set for a second straight weekly gain.
"There is probably going to be some pick-up in wage growth but not enough to really change what we already know about inflation over the coming months," said James McCann, deputy chief economist at Aberdeen Standard Investments. "What the data could do is cement investors' thinking about when the Fed might announce a tapering of asset purchases."
The U.S. central bank last month opened talks on how to end its crisis-era massive bond-buying.
· U.S. toymaker doubles down in China despite rising costs, political tensions
Hammered by tariffs, pandemic-fueled disruptions and rising costs, some global manufacturers are reducing their reliance on Chinese factories and moving assembly lines to Vietnam, Malaysia and other lower-cost countries, or even Japan.
· Euro zone recovery still fragile, ECB's Lagarde says
The euro zone’s economy is beginning to rebound from a pandemic-induced slump but this recovery remains fragile, the European Central Bank’s President Christine Lagarde said in an interview published on Friday.
“We agreed to maintain (emergency stimulus) measures until at least March 2022, and in any case, until we judge that the coronavirus crisis phase is over,” Lagarde told local French daily La Provence. “While the recovery is now beginning to get under way, it remains fragile.”
· The EU’s COVID-19 ‘digital certificates’ are up and running
From today, almost all EU Member States are now able to issue and verify digital certificates, per the Commission — with only a handful of (mostly) EEA countries still pending a step, according to its website.
· Number of foreign tourists to Spain jumps in May as restrictions eased
· Hungary plans export curbs on construction materials -PM
Hungary plans to impose export restrictions on construction materials from October to help rein in inflation in the sector, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday.
· Analysis: Latam central banks look past COVID as inflation phantoms loom
Latin America’s central banks have become more hawkish as the region’s inflationary ghosts rattle their chains, with a recent pivot by the U.S. Federal Reserve further boosting market expectations of tighter monetary policies.
The moves dramatized how an inflation red alert has suddenly sounded for policymakers in a region where countries like Brazil spent years struggling with hyperinflation and others like Argentina still battle double-digit annual price increases.
· India's Zydus Cadila seeks approval for its 3-dose COVID vaccine
Indian drugmaker Zydus Cadila (CADI.NS) said on Thursday it has applied for emergency use approval of its three-dose COVID-19 vaccine that showed efficacy of 66.6% in an interim study and could become the second home-grown shot if regulators consent.
· Japan May household spending growth seen slowing amid pandemic
Japan's household spending likely slowed in May, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, as a new wave of coronavirus infections and a slow vaccination rollout weigh on consumer confidence.
Internal affairs ministry data out at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday (2330 GMT Monday) is expected to show all household spending jumped 10.9% year-on-year in May, slowing from a 13.0% gain in the prior month, according to a Reuters poll of 16 economists.
· Australia to halve arrivals from overseas, offers COVID-19 exit roadmap
Australia will halve the number of arrivals from overseas as its coronavirus hotel quarantine system creaks under pressure from outbreaks of the highly transmissible Delta variant, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday.
· Fortress Australia's COVID-19 breaches expose economic shortcomings
Fresh COVID-19 outbreaks in Australia and a snail-paced vaccination rollout are starting to take the shine off the country’s stunning economic recovery, souring the business mood and casting doubts over its path to post-pandemic life.
· Israel strikes Hamas site in Gaza over fire balloons - military
Israeli aircraft bombed a Hamas site in the Gaza Strip overnight in response to incendiary balloons launched from the Palestinian enclave, Israel's military said on Friday.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from the Israeli strikes, which the military said targeted a weapons manufacturing site used by Hamas, Gaza's Islamist rulers.
Since a May 21 ceasefire ended 11 days of Israel-Hamas fighting, Palestinians in Gaza have sporadically launched balloons laden with incendiary material across the border, causing fires that have burned fields in Israel.
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