Gold and silver trade marginally lower at the European open

LONDON (Apr 19)  Gold opened higher on Sunday night but has since retraced to around $1975/oz. Silver is 0.27% lower trading at $25.77/oz. Elsewhere in the commodities complex, copper is 0.42% in the red and spot WTI has lost half a percent. 

Risk sentiment was mixed overnight. The Nikkei 225 (0.69%) and ASX (0.56%) traded higher but the Shanghai Composite fell 0.39%. Futures in Europe are indicating a negative cash open. 

In FX markets, USD/JPY once again stole the show as the pair rose 0.89%. AUD/USD was the next biggest mover rising 0.36%. In the crypto markets, BTC/USD is still moving sideways at $40,748.

News from the weekend and overnight:

Fed's Bullard. He says there will be no recession. Bullard also added a 75bps hike is possible and the Fed needs to raise rates to around 3.5% in 2022. 

RBNZ Govr Orr says the current challenge is getting a 'soft landing' over the next few years.

Ukraine's armed forces said Russia's main focus is on taking full control of Donetsk and Luhansk. 

French finance minister says embargo on Russian oil is in the works.

China's state planner says will monitor commodity prices.

RBA minutes - Members agreed financial conditions in Australia remain highly accommodative.

China's Tangshan locks down 5 districts. China's Shanghai reports 20K+ new coronavirus cases.

Goldman Sachs says a PBOC rate cut on Wednesday is unlikely.

New Zealand services PMI for March 51.6 (vs. prior 48.6)

Looking ahead to the rest of the session highlights include U.S. building permits, housing starts, IMF world economic outlook, comments from Fed's Evans and earnings continue.

KITCO