· Gold holds near 3-week high on omicron jitters
Gold prices edged higher on Monday, hovering near a three-week high hit in the previous session, as fears over the rapidly spreading omicron coronavirus variant boosted the metal’s safe-haven appeal.
Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,800.42 per ounce by 0113 GMT. U.S. gold futures were down 0.2% at $1,801.50.
Asian share markets fell and oil prices slid as surging omicron cases triggered tighter restrictions in Europe and threatened to drag on the global economy into the new year.
The possibility of more Covid-19 restrictions being imposed ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays loomed over several European countries as the omicron variant spreads rapidly.
U.S. health officials urged Americans on Sunday to get booster shots, wear masks and be careful if they travel over the winter holidays, as the omicron variant raged across the world and was set to take over as the dominant strain in the United States.
U.S. Federal Reserve officials openly spoke of hiking rates as soon as March and of starting to run down the central bank’s balance sheet in mid-2022.
The U.S. dollar index hovered close to a three-week high hit in the previous week.
Physical gold demand in India showed a modest improvement this week as some buyers rushed to stores anticipating a further rise in domestic prices, while customers in other Asian hubs started bullion shopping for Christmas.
Spot silver was up 0.1% at $22.37 an ounce, platinum shed 0.2% to $928.23 and palladium dipped 1.8% to $1,749.51.
· Dollar shines, euro droops as Omicron spreads while Fed hawks circle
The dollar index , which measures the currency against six major peers, stood at 96.629, not far from the peak at 96.938 reached last month.
The World Health Organization said on Saturday that the number of Omicron cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas of the world with community transmission, but noted that much remains unknown about the variant, including the severity of the illness it causes.
· Money markets price about 50-50 odds of a quarter point hike by March.
· Raising rates would be a positive event for the U.S. economy, New York Fed’s Williams says
· China cuts lending benchmark, market sees more easing in 2022
· China’s central bank cuts a benchmark rate for the first time since the pandemic
China’s central bank cut a benchmark lending rate on Monday for the first time since April 2020, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
The People’s Bank of China lowered the one-year loan prime rate to 3.8%, down from 3.85%. The five-year loan prime rate remained unchanged from the prior month at 4.65%.
· French economic rebound, inflation to moderate next year - central bank
French growth and inflation will moderate in 2022 after a faster than expected recovery this year, after which a tighter labour market will boost wages, the French central bank forecast on Sunday.
The euro zone's second-biggest economy is set to grow 6.7% this year, the Bank of France said in its latest long term outlook, raising its forecast up from 6.3% previously.
The post-pandemic economy's momentum would wane next year, with growth slowing to 3.6% and easing back further to 2.2% in 2023 and 1.4% in 2024, the central bank said.
It also said that inflation, driven largely by high energy prices, would peak at the end this year at around 3.5% before returning to below 2% at the end of 2022.
· BOJ's Kuroda: too early to consider normalising monetary policy
The BOJ's assets have grown the equivalent of 135% of GDP, far exceeding 36% for the Fed and 66% for ECB, as of September 2021, Kuroda said, pledging to conduct appropriate policy taking its financial health into account.
"I don't think expansion of the BOJ's assets will affect our ability to keep monetary policy and financial system stable," Kuroda told parliament.
With U.S. consumer inflation accelerating to 7% and the euro zone approaching close to 5%, the Fed has begun tapering and has decided to end it around next March, Kuroda said.
Kuroda also said it was important for the government to ensure market confidence in Japan's fiscal health in the medium to long term, enabling the BOJ to conduct appropriate policy under stable formation of JGB yields.
· Turkey's Erdogan says he's cut inflation to 4% before, can do again
President Tayyip Erdogan said he had lowered Turkey's inflation to around 4% before and that he will achieve that again, as it topped 21% following a push for aggressive cuts in interest rates that he has engineered.
· Pfizer executives say Covid could become endemic by 2024
· Sydney shrugs off Covid spike, resists calls to restore tough curbs
· Stock futures drop in early morning trading ahead of holiday-shortened week
Stock futures were lower in early morning trading Monday following a losing week as investors continued to grapple with the resurgence of Covid cases and an upcoming shift in the Federal Reserve’s easy monetary policy.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 298 points. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.93% and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 1.01%.
· Asia stocks, oil prices suffer as Omicron spreads
Asian share markets fell and oil prices slid on Monday as surging Omicron cases triggered tighter restrictions in Europe and threatened to drag on the global economy into the new year.
Oil prices swung lower amid concerns the spread of the Omicron variant would crimp demand for fuel and signs of improving supply.
Brent fell $1.56 to $71.96 a barrel, while U.S. crude lost $1.43 to $69.43 per barrel.
Reference : CNBC, Reuters
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