Gold Touches Record High on Rate-cut Bets, Weaker US Dollar

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su//File Photo
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Gold Touches Record High on Rate-cut Bets, Weaker US Dollar

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su//File Photo

Gold hit a record high on Wednesday, boosted by a softer US dollar and hopes of more interest rate cuts, while investors looked for new signals for the Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory.

Spot gold was steady at $2,658.08 per ounce, as of 0557 GMT, after hitting an all-time high of $2,670.43 earlier, Reuters reported.
US gold futures gained 0.2% to $2,682.10.
The dollar eased 0.2%, making greenback-priced bullion less expensive for other currency holders.
On Tuesday, China announced a slew of support measures including outsized rate cuts, after the US Fed cut rates by 50 basis points last week. Market participants see about 60% chance of another 50 bps cut in November.
After the Fed cut, China's decision to cut rates has increased another round of liquidity and this could see further demand going into the gold market by Chinese investors, said Kelvin Wong, OANDA's senior market analyst for Asia Pacific.
The short-term bullish trend remains intact, with resistance at $2,690 level, followed by another level at $2,710, Wong said.
Zero-yield bullion tends to be a preferred investment in a low-rate environment.
Meanwhile, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said key measures of inflation remain "uncomfortably above" the Fed's 2% target, warranting caution as the central bank proceeds with trimming rates.
Traders await Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks on Thursday and US inflation data on Friday for further policy cues.
Elsewhere, Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed a senior Hezbollah commander on Tuesday, heightening fears of a full-scale war amid increasing cross-border rocket attacks between both sides.
Inflows to gold exchange-traded funds, particularly from Western investors, will rise in the coming months, providing further support for record-high bullion prices, analysts said.
Spot silver fell 0.9% to $31.85 per ounce, platinum was down 0.4% to $981.93 and palladium shed 1.3% to $1,042.90.



IMF: Pakistan Wins More Financing Assurances from Saudi Arabia, UAE, China

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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IMF: Pakistan Wins More Financing Assurances from Saudi Arabia, UAE, China

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Pakistan has received “significant financing assurances” from China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates linked to a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) program that go beyond a deal to roll over $12 billion in bilateral loans owed to them by Islamabad, IMF Pakistan Mission Chief Nathan Porter said on Thursday.

Porter declined to provide details of additional financing amounts committed by the three countries but said they would come on top of the debt rollover.

The IMF's Executive Board on Wednesday approved a new $7 billion loan for cash-strapped Pakistan, more than two months after the two sides said they had reached an agreement.

The loan — which Islamabad will receive in installments over 37 months — is aimed at boosting Pakistan's ailing economy.

“I won't go into the specifics, but UAE, China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia all provided significant financing assurances joined up in this program,” Porter told reporters on a conference call.

The global lender said its immediate disbursement will be about $1 billion.

In a statement issued Thursday, the IMF praised Pakistan for taking key steps to restore economic stability. Growth has rebounded, inflation has fallen to single digits, and a calm foreign exchange market have allowed the rebuilding of reserve buffers.

But it also criticized authorities. The IMF warned that, despite the progress, Pakistan’s vulnerabilities and structural challenges remained formidable.

It said a difficult business environment, weak governance, and an outsized role of the state hindered investment, while the tax base remained too narrow.

“Spending on health and education has been insufficient to tackle persistent poverty, and inadequate infrastructure investment has limited economic potential and left Pakistan vulnerable to the impact of climate change,” it warned.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a statement hailed the deal that his team had been negotiating with the IMF since June.

Sharif, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, told Pakistani media that the country had fulfilled all of the lender’s conditions, with help from China and Saudi Arabia.

“Without their support, this would not have been possible,” he said, without elaborating on what assistance Beijing and Riyadh had provided to get the deal over the line.

The Pakistani government has vowed to increase its tax intake, in line with IMF requirements, despite protests in recent months by retailers and some opposition parties over the new tax scheme and high electricity rates.

Pakistan for decades has been relying on IMF loans to meet its economic needs.

The latest economic crisis has been the most prolonged and has seen Pakistan facing its highest-ever inflation, pushing the country to the brink of a sovereign default last summer before an IMF bailout.

Inflation has since tempered, and credit ratings agency Moody’s has upgraded Pakistan’s local and foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to “Caa2” from “Caa3”, citing improving macroeconomic conditions and moderately better government liquidity and external positions.