عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Gold Flat Ahead of US Data, But Set for Fourth Straight Monthly Gain

A jeweller shows a gold bar at his shop in downtown Kuwait City on May 20, 2024. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)
A jeweller shows a gold bar at his shop in downtown Kuwait City on May 20, 2024. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)
TT
TT

Gold Flat Ahead of US Data, But Set for Fourth Straight Monthly Gain

A jeweller shows a gold bar at his shop in downtown Kuwait City on May 20, 2024. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)
A jeweller shows a gold bar at his shop in downtown Kuwait City on May 20, 2024. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)

Gold prices were set for a fourth straight monthly gain, even as the market struggled for momentum on Friday ahead of a key US inflation reading that could provide more indications on how the Federal Reserve might proceed with rate cuts later this year.
Spot gold was unchanged at $2,343.63 per ounce, as of 0726 GMT. Bullion prices are up 0.4% so far this week and 2.5% so far in the month.
US gold futures was flat to $2,341.80, said Reuters.
The monthly gains are due to "the central bank (buying) element and the residual geopolitical risk story," said Kyle Rodda, a financial market analyst at Capital.com.
The market is now waiting for the release of the US core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index data, the Fed's preferred measure for inflation, at 1230 GMT.
"Ahead of the data, gold prices have been largely treading water... A weaker US GDP read last night may call for imminent policy easing, but much validation will still revolve around the extent of inflation progress," said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.
Any upside in PCE could put gold on the back foot but it may take much more to reverse the broader upward trend, with buyers likely to step in to defend the $2,300 level, he added.
Data on Thursday showed that the US economy grew more slowly in the first quarter than previously estimated.
Meanwhile, traders have dialed back rate-cut expectations after Fed officials recently struck a hawkish tone that suggests a longer route to the 2% inflation target.
While bullion is considered an inflation hedge, higher rates increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset.
Spot silver was steady to $31.18 per ounce, but was set for its biggest monthly gain since July 2020.
Platinum was up 0.3% at $1,026.75 and palladium gained 0.2% to $949.34.
Nornickel, the world's largest producer of palladium , said it expected a global deficit of 0.9 million ounces for palladium in 2024.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Dollar Strong, Stocks Creep Higher as Second Trump Term Dawns

A teller sorts US dollar banknotes inside the cashier's booth at a forex exchange bureau in downtown Nairobi, Kenya February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File photo
A teller sorts US dollar banknotes inside the cashier's booth at a forex exchange bureau in downtown Nairobi, Kenya February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File photo
TT
TT

Dollar Strong, Stocks Creep Higher as Second Trump Term Dawns

A teller sorts US dollar banknotes inside the cashier's booth at a forex exchange bureau in downtown Nairobi, Kenya February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File photo
A teller sorts US dollar banknotes inside the cashier's booth at a forex exchange bureau in downtown Nairobi, Kenya February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File photo

The dollar was firm and Asia's stock markets were cautiously positive on Monday as investors waited for an expected flurry of policy announcements in the first hours of Donald Trump's second presidency and eyed a rate hike in Japan at the end of the week.
Trump takes the oath of office at noon Eastern Time (1700 GMT), and promised a "brand new day of American strength" at a rally on Sunday, Reuters said.
He has stoked expectations he will issue a slew of executive orders right away and, in a reminder of his unpredictability, launched a digital token on Friday, which soared to trade above $70 at one point for a total market value north of $15 billion.
Monday is a US holiday, so the first responses to his inauguration in traditional financial markets may be felt in foreign exchange, where traders are focused on Trump's tariff policies, and then in Asian trade on Tuesday.
US equity futures were a fraction weaker in the Asian morning on Monday while the dollar, which has rallied since September on strong US data and as Trump's ultimately successful political campaign gained momentum, held steady.
Japan's Nikkei rose 1%.
Last week the S&P 500 notched the biggest weekly percentage gain since early November and the Nasdaq its largest since early December on some benign inflation data.
The dollar is up around 8% on the euro since September and at $1.0273 is not far from last week's two-year high. But so much is priced in that some analysts feel a more gradual start to US tariff hikes may draw out some sellers.
"A forceful start to Trump's new term could rattle nerves and give the dollar more support," said Corpay currency strategist Peter Dragicevich.
"By contrast, based on what already looks baked in, we think a more measured approach may ease fears and see the dollar lose ground, as it did after Trump took charge in 2017."
Trump has threatened tariffs of as much as 10% on global imports and 60% on Chinese goods, plus a 25% import surcharge on Canadian and Mexican products, duties that trade experts say would upend trade flows, raise costs and draw retaliation.
The Canadian dollar touched a five-year low of C$1.4486 per dollar on Monday. The Mexican peso hit a 2-1/2 year low of 20.94 per dollar on Friday.
Bitcoin dipped in the early part of the Asian day but remained above $100,000. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields closed out Friday at 4.61%, up nearly 100 basis points in four months.
CHINA FOCUS
China is in focus as the target of the harshest potential trade levies. Investors lately cheered better-than-expected Chinese growth data and a Friday phone call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping that left both upbeat.
"Basically everyone is waiting for these trade negotiations to begin and see what kind of attitude Xi Jinping takes with Trump," Ken Peng, head of Asia investment strategy at Citi Wealth told reporters in Singapore at an outlook briefing.
"That relationship between the two gentlemen has become very important as a leading indicator of policies."
Chinese equity markets rose last week and futures pointed to modest gains for Hong Kong shares at the open.
The yuan is seen likely to slowly adjust to any shifts in trade policy and was marginally firmer at 7.3355 per dollar in offshore trade.
The Australian dollar, sensitive to trade flows and China's economy, has scraped off five-year lows and, according to Commonwealth Bank strategist Joe Capurso, could test resistance at $0.6322 if Trump's policy changes fall short of market expectations. It was last at $0.62.
Japan's yen rallied last week as remarks from Bank of Japan policymakers were taken as hints that a rate cut is likely on Friday.
It was last steady at 156.17 per dollar and rates markets priced about an 80% chance of a 25 basis point rate hike.
In commodities gold hovered at $2,694 an ounce and Brent crude futures ticked higher to $81.21 a barrel.