Gold prices slipped on Wednesday, as a buoyant dollar and a rebound in U.S. Treasury yields stemmed inflows into the safe-haven bullion spurred by fears the delta coronavirus variant may stall a global recovery.
· Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,808.45 per ounce, as of 0035 GMT.
· U.S. gold futures eased 0.1% at $1,808.90 per ounce.
· Yields on 10-year Treasuries bounced off five-month lows, increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing gold.
· The dollar, also considered a safe bet during geopolitical uncertainties, held near a 3-1/2-month peak against its rivals, potentially trimming appetite for gold by making the metal more expensive for holders of other currencies.
· Wall Street rebounded on Tuesday as upbeat earnings reports and revived economic optimism buoyed appetite for risk, following a multi-day losing streak driven by a rise in worldwide coronavirus cases and rising deaths in the United States.
· Many Bank of Japan policymakers said rising global commodity costs will gradually push up the country’s inflation, though some warned that weak consumption will keep any upward pressure modest, minutes of their June meeting showed.
· Swiss exports of gold to India edged higher in June, although they remained far below levels earlier this year, while shipments to mainland China fell, Swiss customs data showed on Tuesday.
· Russia’s central bank said the country’s gold reserves stood at 73.7 million troy ounces at the start of July.
· Miner Barrick Gold has resumed surface operations including processing at its Hemlo mine in Canada’s Ontario province after a worker fatality last week suspended mining, a company spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
· Silver was steady at $24.92 per ounce.
· palladium rose 0.2% to $2,637.68.
The world is in the early stages of another wave of Covid-19 infections and death, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday.
Speaking to International Olympic Committee members in Tokyo, Tedros said the global failure to share vaccines, tests and treatments is fueling a “two-track pandemic.” Countries that have adequate resources like vaccines are opening up, while others are locking down in a bid to slow the virus’ transmission.
· South Korea reports record daily infections as Delta variant drives surge
South Korea reported a daily record of 1,784 coronavirus cases for Tuesday, breaking a mark set last week, as the authorities struggled to get on top of a surge in outbreaks linked to the Delta variant.
· Covid appears to be the ‘Achilles’ heel’ for Southeast Asian economies, says Jefferies
The failure to contain Covid infections is impeding the recovery of many Southeast Asian economies, says Sean Darby from Jefferies.
“Indonesia, like many of the ASEAN economies, has yet to really get to grips with the Covid-19 virus,” Darby, global head of equity strategy at the U.S. investment bank, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Tuesday.
“That seems to be the Achilles heel for the ASEAN economies at the moment,” he said referring to Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional grouping.
· Goldman Sachs recently slashed its 2021 growth forecasts for major economies in Southeast Asia as a surge in the more infectious delta variant triggered daily record highs in infections in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand these past weeks.
· U.S. states ending federal unemployment benefit saw no clear job gains
U.S. states putting an early end to federal unemployment benefits saw a larger jump in local labor supply in June than those planning to maintain the $300 weekly supplement until early September, new data show, though there was no clear sign ithad led to significantly more hiring.
State-level jobs data released earlier this month show that in the 26 states stopping benefits early an additional 174,000 people joined the labor force in June, by either taking jobs or beginning work searches, compared to 47,000 in the other states.
· June slump in Australia's retail sales clouds third-quarter growth outlook
Retail turnover in June fell 1.8% from a month earlier, the biggest drop this year, preliminary figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed on Wednesday. That compared with a larger-than-expected 0.4% gain in May and a median forecast for a 0.5% drop.
· Japan's factory output likely rebounded in June but retail sales soften: Reuters poll
· BOJ's Amamiya voices hope of stronger recovery driven by vaccinations
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya said the economy may enjoy a stronger-than-expected rebound next year if coronavirus vaccinations speed up, offering an upbeat view on recovery prospects even as the pandemic weighs on consumption.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman discussed the importance of stability in the Taiwan Strait and denuclearization of North Korea during a meeting with foreign ministers from South Korea and Japan, a State Department spokesperson said.
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