Gold prices fell as much as 1.5% on Tuesday, snapping a five-session long streak of gains, as the dollar firmed and strong company earnings bolstered appetite for riskier assets.
· Spot gold was down 0.9% at $1,790.54 per ounce by 01:46 p.m. EDT. U.S. gold futures for December delivery settled down 0.7% to $1,793.40 per ounce.
· “The stronger-than-expected move in equities, with a lot of earnings on deck, is taking a bit off gold this morning,” said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
Haberkorn said some gold traders could be booking profits from the recent upside move, “with equities being as strong as they are.”
· Strong results from tech-related companies drove the benchmark S&P 500 index to a record high during the session, taking the shine off safe-haven gold.
· Also dimming bullion’s appeal for investors holding other currencies, the dollar index advanced 0.1%.
· Gold prices have rallied about 2.5% over the past five sessions, supported by worries over inflation and uncertainty over what measures central banks would take to combat rising prices.
· Analysts said gold was unlikely to stray too far from the key technical level of $1,800 per ounce, given the focus on inflation. Gold is considered a hedge against higher inflation that generally follows widespread money printing by central banks.
· Focus this week will be on major central bank meetings, including those of the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank scheduled on Thursday.
· The U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting is scheduled for next week.
· On the technical front, a move below $1,780 would “look really bad for gold, which has been in an upward trend throughout the month,” OANDA analyst Craig Erlam said in a note.
· SPDR Net Buy 1.74 tonnes at 979.81 tonnes on previous session.
· Elsewhere, silver declined 2.2% to $24.01 per ounce.
· Platinum fell 2.6% to $1,029.65 per ounce, while palladium slipped 2.7% to $1,995.91.
· U.S. new home sales hit six-month high; median price stays above $400,000
Sales of new U.S. single-family homes surged to a six-month high in September, but higher house price are making homeownership less affordable for some first-time buyers.
New home sales jumped 14.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 800,000 units last month, the highest level since March, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. August’s sales pace was revised down to 702,000 units from the previously reported 740,000 units. Sales increased in the populous South, as well as in the West and Northeast. They, however, fell in the Midwest.
· U.S. consumer confidence rebounds; house price growth likely peaked
U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly rose in October as concerns about high inflation were offset by improving labor market prospects, suggesting economic growth was picking up after a turbulent third quarter.
The survey from the Conference Board on Tuesday showed consumers eager to buy a home and big-ticket items such as motor vehicles and major household appliances over the next six months. The share of Americans planning to go on vacation was the largest since February 2020, just before the nation was slammed by the first wave of COVID-19 infections.
The consumer confidence index increased to a reading of 113.8 this month from 109.8 in September, ending three straight monthly declines. The measure, which places more emphasis on the labor market, remains below its peak of 128.9 in June. The rise contrasted with the University of Michigan's survey of consumers, which showed sentiment falling early this month.
· Biden to name 'slate' to Fed, emphasis on workers - Senator Brown says
U.S. President Joe Biden will probably advance a “whole slate” of nominees to the Federal Reserve Board, which may or may not include current chair Jerome Powell and will ensure a greater emphasis on workers, Senator Sherrod Brown said on Tuesday.
The president understood that workers should be at the center of economic policy, which “includes making the Fed look more like America but think more like America too,” said Brown, adding that he gets along well with Powell but the decision on Powell’s renomination is Biden’s.
The Senate banking committee oversees the Fed and must sign off on Fed nominees before they can be considered for approval by the Senate as a whole.
· CDC extends Covid restrictions for cruise ship industry into January
· U.S. FDA advisers back Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children
· Australia to lift outbound travel ban for vaccinated residents from next week
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