MTS Help Center

Gold rises on weaker dollar as investors look to U.S. jobs data

Gold firmed on Tuesday as the dollar weakened, but its advance slowed as some investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the August U.S. non-farm payrolls data due later this week.

· Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,814.42 per ounce by 2:01 pm EDT (1801 GMT), after hitting its highest since Aug. 4 on Monday at $1,822.92.

· U.S. gold futures settled up 0.3% at $1,818.1.

· The dollar index slipped to a more than three-week low, making gold cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.

· Interest in gold has increased after dovish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole conference on Friday, when he did not to give a firm timeline for the central bank to start cutting on its asset purchase.

· “The Fed is going to pull the trigger but there isn’t going to be a robust reduction in monetary accommodation over the next few months, so gold should ultimately do okay,” said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities.

Still, investors remained concerned over the timeline for tapering in the run up to Friday’s U.S. jobs report, which could raise fears over the central bank paring its economic support sooner.

· “Having previously turned their backs on gold for a number of weeks, thereby contributing significantly to the price slump in early August, speculative financial investors have now returned,” Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann said.

· SPDR GOLD HOLDINGS:
HEAVY SELL MORE THAN 30 TONNES IN AUGUST

· Silver eased 0.6% to $23.92 per ounce and was headed for a third straight month of declines, down about 6%.

· Platinum rose 0.8% to $1,014.34, but was on track for a fourth consecutive monthly loss, sliding 3.4% so far.

· Palladium fell 0.8% to $2,474.66, and was headed for its worst monthly performance since January with a 7% decline.

· U.S. June home prices rise at record annual pace -S&P/Case-Shiller

U.S. single-family home prices in 20 key urban markets rose in June from a year earlier at the fastest pace on record, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas gained 19.1% through the 12 months ended in June from an upwardly revised 17.1% in the 12 months through May, marking the largest annual price increase in the survey’s two decades. A Reuters poll of economists had forecast an increase of 18.5%.

On a month-to-month basis, the 20-city composite index rose 1.8% from May, in line with estimates from economists polled by Reuters.

· Euro zone inflation hits 10-year high ahead of key central bank meeting

Inflation in the euro zone rose again in August, ahead of a closely-watched European Central Bank meeting in just over a week’s time.

Consumer prices increased by 3% this month from a year ago, according to preliminary estimates published Tuesday, after rising by 2.2% in July.

If the August figure is confirmed in a few weeks’ time, it would represent the highest inflation reading for 10 years.

· Britain’s economy is already seeing a rapid shift due to climate change

· U.N. Latin America arm revises region's 2021 economic growth upwards to 5.9%

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has adjusted upwards its economic growth forecast for the region this year to 5.9%, as expectations improve for a global recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United Nations body had projected an expansion in the region's gross domestic product (GDP) of 5.2% at the start of July, but said the panorama was looking brighter amid the gradual reopening of economies and relaxation of sanitary measures around the region.

ECLAC warned however that a better performance this year would still not see countries in the region returning to pre-pandemic levels of economic activity and that longer term growth remained uncertain, given the uneven progress of the COVID-19 vaccination roll-out in Latin America.

Private consumption will be the biggest driver of growth in 2021 and 2022, representing more than half of the increase in economic activity, ECLAC said.

· Chile central bank doubles benchmark interest rate to 1.5% from 0.75%

Chile’s central bank said on Tuesday it would raise its benchmark interest rate to 1.5% from 0.75%, as a rapid COVID-19 vaccination program helps the world’s top copper producer resume economic activity and inflation ticks upward.

The bank began to withdraw monetary stimulus last month, lifting the rate to 0.75% after an extended period of maintaining it at 0.5%, its lowest point since the outbreak of the pandemic and associated lockdowns.

· Indian economic growth jumps in April-June, helped by looser pandemic curbs

Gross domestic product expanded 20.1% in April-June, the first quarter of India’s fiscal year, compared with the same period a year earlier, driven mainly by manufacturing and construction, the statistics ministry said on Tuesday.

That was in line with a Reuters poll forecast of 20.0% and compared with a record contraction of 24.4% in the same quarter of 2020.

· South Korea passes bill limiting Apple and Google control over app store payments

· Biden says Afghanistan exit marks the end of U.S nation-building

· Bill to help Americans returning from Afghanistan becomes law

· COVID-19 UPDATES:

· Surging COVID-19 cases dampen U.S. consumer confidence, house prices post record gains

U.S. consumer confidence fell to a six-month low in August as worries about soaring COVID-19 infections and higher inflation dimmed the outlook for the economy.

· Covid: EU recommends new travel restrictions for US as cases rise

· EXCLUSIVE Thailand's elderly lag behind in COVID vaccination drive, data show