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·         Spot gold fell 0.2% to $1,809.79 per ounce by 1:55 p.m. EDT.

·         U.S. gold futures settled 0.4% lower at $1,814.10.

 

·         Gold prices edged lower on Tuesday, as traders stayed on the sidelines in advance of U.S. jobs data due later this week that could influence the timeline of when the Federal Reserve cuts back on its asset purchase program.

 

·         SPDR GOLD HOLDING

 

·         Investors are looking forward to U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for July due on Friday, expected to see jobs increase by 880,000 after rising by 850,000 in June, according to a Reuters survey of economists.

·         “The market is fixated on when the Fed will taper and Friday’s jobs number could determine how soon that may happen. The near-term outlook for gold is still bullish, but two robust nonfarm payroll reports could put a wrench in that theory,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.

 

·         Friday’s report also comes after Fed Chair Jerome Powell last week said the job market still had “some ground to cover” before it could pull back its support to the economy, which pushed gold prices to a two-week high.

But two of the U.S. central bank’s more hawkish policymakers said in recent days they believed the job market recovery is nearing completion, clearing the way for the Fed to begin tempering its support to the economy in a matter of months.

·         Analysts at TD Securities said in a note that gold’s inability to benefit from “melting” real interest rates and fears over the Delta COVID-19 variant pointed to a lack of speculative interest, with a Fed that is still on track for a December taper.

 

·         Higher interest rates raise the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing gold.

 

·         Elsewhere, silver gained 0.3% to $25.52 an ounce.

 

·         Platinum dropped 0.7% to $1,049.28 and palladium slipped 0.9% to $2,652.38.

 

 

·         Slow slog in U.S. Senate for $1 trillion infrastructure bill

The U.S. Senate made gradual progress on Tuesday on a $1 trillion infrastructure investment bill to upgrade roads, bridges, mass transit and broadband services as the Democratic and Republican leaders squabbled over debate on amendments.

The legislation, which is backed by President Joe Biden, marked a rare bipartisan effort in a Senate that is split 50-50 between the two parties.

Two days into the debate, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell clashed over the pace of progress on the bill, which appeared headed toward passage but which is still is open to amendments.

 

·         Solid U.S. factory orders, business spending on equipment point to enduring manufacturing strength

New orders for U.S.-made goods increased more than expected in June, while business spending on equipment was solid, pointing to sustained strength in manufacturing even as spending is shifting away from goods to services.

The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that factory orders rose 1.5% in June after advancing 2.3% in May. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast factory orders increasing 1.0%.

Orders soared 18.4% on a year-on-year basis. Demand pivoted towards goods during the COVID-19 pandemic as millions of Americans were cooped up at home, boosting manufacturing, which accounts for 11.9% of the U.S. economy. But the surge in demand is straining the supply chain.

 

·         Fed's Bowman: 'More work to be done' on jobs recovery

The labor market will take time to heal from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and more needs to be done for the U.S. economy to get fully back on track, Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said on Tuesday.

 

·         Dollar steadies as markets weigh economic risks, central bank moves

The U.S. dollar steadied on Tuesday, after having lost value against the Japanese yen and Swiss franc, as questions about slowing U.S. economic growth and the COVID-19 Delta variant challenged risk appetite.

The index that measures the dollar’s strength against a basket of peers was up by a hair to 92.046 at 1902 GMT after declining slightly on Monday.

The U.S. dollar dipped below 109 yen, and for a second day gave up as much as 0.4% before recovering half of the day’s loss to 109.1 yen.

Strategists have said they do not expect major moves in the dollar before Friday’s U.S. jobs report and maybe not until Fed officials speak at the end of August at a symposium of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The euro was a touch lower at $1.1865, having lost momentum after hitting a one-month high of $1.1909 on Friday. The British pound gained 0.2% to $1.3915.

On Thursday the Bank of England will meet and could send hawkish signals on its policies amid optimism about the British economy.

 

·         The 10-year Treasury yield stabilized on Tuesday after falling back to near five-month lows on Monday. As yields rebounded from their decline midday back to the unchanged mark, stocks rose.

 

·         Inflation pressure to test Bank of England’s patience at key meeting, economists warn

Economists broadly expect the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee to raise its inflation forecasts on Thursday after two straight months of overshoots.

However, investors should not expect a hawkish shift, and economists at several major European banks are expecting the BOE to strike a cautiously optimistic tone while leaving its quantitative easing program and interest rate stance in place.

 

·         Iran nuclear deal talks are stuck after substantial progress, negotiator says

The fragile discussions over the revival of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal were about two weeks away from reaching a conclusion in June, but several complicated items remain unresolved, according to a senior German government official participating in the talks.

 

 

·         COVID-19 UPDATES:

 

·         U.S. reached the 70% Covid vaccine milestone, according to the CDC.

 

·         S.Korea on alert for new Delta Plus COVID-19 variant

South Korea has detected its first two cases of the new Delta Plus COVID-19 variant, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Tuesday, as the country battles with its fourth wave of infections.

The Delta Plus variant is a sub-lineage of the Delta variant first identified in India, and has acquired the spike protein mutation called K417N, which is also found in the Beta variant first identified in South Africa.

Reports of Delta Plus cases have been few, and a handful of countries, including Britain, Portugal and India, have reported some cases.

Health authorities have said several major vaccines work against the highly contagious Delta variant, which has already become dominant in many countries, but have raised concern new strains may evade some vaccines.

Some scientists have said the Delta Plus variant may be even more transmissible. Studies are ongoing in India and globally to test the effectiveness of vaccines against this mutation.

 

·         New case and death in Thailand hit Record Highs

 

 

THAILAND NEW CASET HIT TOP 5 IN ASIA

 

THAILAND NEW DEATH RANK AT No.8 IN ASIA