EUR 8.82 For Business Accounts Only

Gold dips as dollar gains on China Covid risks, (AKD Commodities vantage, Nov 28 2022)

GOLD: Gold prices slipped on Monday, as the dollar strengthened on safe-haven demand triggered by protests in several Chinese cities over the country’s strict Covid-19 restrictions. Spot gold was down 0.4% at $1,749.00 per ounce, as of 0314 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,749.90. A majority of market participants are pricing in a 50 basis-point increase at the Fed’s December meeting after minutes of the last policy meeting signaled a slower pace of hikes. Higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding metal. The ADP National Employment report and the U.S. Labor Department’s nonfarm payrolls data due later this week will also be scanned for their likely influence on the Fed’s rate-hike strategy.

OIL: Oil futures fell more than $2 a barrel on Monday, with WTI hitting an 11-month low, as protests in top importer China over strict Covid-19 curbs fueled demand concerns. Brent crude dropped $2.16, or 2.6%, to trade at $81.47 a barrel at 0230 GMT, after diving to $81.16 earlier in the session — its lowest since Jan. 11. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude  slid $2.08, or 2.7%, to $74.20 a barrel. It fell as far as $73.82 earlier — its lowest since Dec. 27, 2021. WTI’s trading range is expected to fall to $70-$75, he said, adding the market could stay volatile depending on the outcome of the OPEC+ meeting and the price cap on Russian oil.

US-EQUITIES: Stock futures fell early Monday as social unrest from China’s prolonged Covid restrictions weighed on markets, sending oil prices lower — after Wall Street notched gains during the Thanksgiving holiday-shortened week. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 178 points, or 0.52%. S&P 500 futures were 0.67% lower and Nasdaq 100 futures shed 0.85%. Minutes from the Fed’s November meeting confirmed the likely shift in policy.

U.S DOLLAR: The dollar climbed on Monday as protests against Covid restrictions in China rattled financial markets, sending the yuan sliding and pushing nervous investors toward the safe-haven greenback. Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar index firmed to 106.34, edging away from its recent three-month low of 105.30. Market expectations of a less hawkish Fed have helped the Japanese yen gain a footing, said Moh Siong Sim, a currency strategist at Bank of Singapore.