Gold was little changed on Friday, with gains curbed by a stronger dollar, while growing concerns over a global economic slowdown due to a spike in COVID-19 infections underpinned the safe-haven metal.
· Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,782.45 per ounce by 1:56 p.m. EDT.
· U.S. gold futures settled up 0.1% at $1,784 per ounce.
· “We do have a two-sided market at the moment. The dollar has been relatively strong of late as a result of this expectation that the Fed will move towards tapering, based on recent commentary,” said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
“Other side, we still believe there’s an underlying support in this gold market right now. We’re starting to see some drags from Delta on the global economic recovery.”
But the dollar also benefited from safe-haven interest, pushing the currency to a 9-1/2-month high, making gold more expensive for other currency holders.
· Against the backdrop of recent tapering hints from the U.S. central bank, the spotlight shifts to the Fed’s annual get-together next week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which could shed further light on monetary strategy and timeline.
· “As soon as the Fed announced that it will start to reduce its bond purchases, an important obstacle for the gold price should disappear,” Commerzbank analysts said in a note.
“During the further course of the year it should benefit from the comparatively cheap valuation of gold and the (record low) real yields.”
· SPDR GOLD HOLDINGS:
SELL NEARLY 4 TONNES ON FRIDAY
· Elsewhere, silver fell 0.8% to $23.05 per ounce, en route to a third straight weekly decline.
· Palladium dropped 1.6% to $2,276.17 and was on course for its worst week since March 2020, falling about 14%.
· Platinum jumped 2.1% to $994.18,but was down 3% for the week.
· TREASURIES-Yields end week lower on COVID-19 concerns
Benchmark 10-year yields rose two basis points on the day to 1.260%, but are down from 1.283% last week. They fell to 1.127% earlier this month, which was the lowest since February.
Trading was choppy with many traders and investors out for August summer holidays.
· Dollar hits new 9-1/2 month high as FX traders seek safety
The U.S. dollar hit a new 9-1/2-month high against major peers on Friday, buoyed by fears that the Delta coronavirus variant could delay the global economic recovery just as central banks begin to reverse pandemic-era stimulus.
While moves in currency markets were much more contained than on Thursday as equity markets stabilised, the risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars fell sharply again.
The dollar index, which measures the currency against six rivals, rose as high as 93.597 for the first time since early November, before trading little changed at 93.629. For the week it is on track to gain about 1%, the most in two months.
The euro was little changed at $1.1674, but still near the 9-1/2-month low of $1.16655 reached overnight. It is down nearly 1% this week, the most since mid-June.
The yen, another safe-haven currency, strengthened. The dollar was down 0.2% at 127.96 yen.
Sterling slipped to one-month lows versus both the dollar and the euro.
· Fed's Kaplan watching Delta variant, says he may need to adjust view
Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan, among the U.S. central bank's most forceful supporters for starting to reduce support for the economy, said on Friday he may need to adjust that view if the Delta variant of the coronavirus slows economic growth materially.
"It's unfolding rapidly," Kaplan said on Fox Business Network's "Mornings with Maria" program.
In a separate virtual appearance at a Texas Tech University event, Kaplan said he was for now leaving his economic forecasts unchanged, at 6.5% GDP growth for this year, with unemployment falling to around 4.5% by the end of 2021, a view he's had for many months now.
Inflation as measured by a key Fed gauge, the personal consumption expenditures index, will likely be around 3.8% at year's but ease next year to about 2.5%, still above the Fed's 2% target, he said.
If the economy plays out as he expects, he said, he'd still support announcing a reduction in the Fed's $120 billion in monthly asset purchases next month, and begin actually doing so in October.
· Fed’s Jackson Hole symposium to take place virtually due to Covid risk
The Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole, Wyo., symposium will take place virtually this year due to Covid risks, the Kansas City Fed announced Friday.
· Yellen backs reappointing Powell as Fed chair - Bloomberg
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told senior White House advisers she backs reappointing Jerome Powell as U.S. Federal Reserve Chair, whose term expires in February, a Bloomberg News reporter wrote on Twitter.
President Joe Biden has not made a decision and will likely weigh in around Labor Day in early September, the reporter added in the tweet.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury Department declined to comment. No comment was immediately available from the White House.
· Global dividends to near pre-pandemic levels in 2021 -report
Global dividends are forecast to rise to $1.39 trillion this year, up slightly from a previous estimate to reflect a stronger than expected recovery in the company payouts, Janus Henderson said in a report published on Monday.
Its latest estimate, up 2.2 percentage points from an earlier one, is just 3% below the pre-pandemic peak.
· Kamala Harris visits Singapore to deepen ties, counter China's influence
· President Biden’s job approval ratings drop as Covid cases rise and crisis in Afghanistan mounts
· Biden pledges evacuation support, Taliban beat back crowds at airport
· Biden says U.S. has ‘long way to go and a lot could still go wrong’ in Afghanistan evacuation
“The evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul is going to be hard and painful no matter when it started, when we began,” the president said during a press conference at the White House.
“It would have been true if we had started a month ago, or a month from now. There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain,” Biden said.
· NATO is ‘working 24/7’ to get as many people out of Afghanistan as possible, its chief says
· Merkel offers reassurances on Russia pipeline, Ukraine urges greater clarity
German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered reassurances on Sunday that Ukraine would not suffer from the construction of Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but Ukraine said talks about its future as a transit country had been vague.
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· Full approval for Pfizer Covid vaccine could come from FDA on Monday, report says
The Food and Drug Administration is working to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Monday, The New York Times reported, citing sources.
· THIALAND HIT TOP 5 RANK FOR NEW DEATHS & CASES IN ASIA:
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