Gold shies as prices climb to two-week high on Fed rate cut speculation
NEW YORK (June 20) Gold prices advanced sharply by more than 1% on Thursday during the North American session as US Treasury bond yields advanced to underpin the Greenback. Data from the United States was softer than expected, boosting traders' confidence that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will ease policy at least twice in 2024. The XAU/USD trades at $2,356 at the time of writing.
The latest economic data from the US continued to show that the economy is decelerating, prompting investors to price in two 25-basis-point (bps) interest rate cuts. A worse-than-expected US jobs report revealed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose above estimates.
US housing data disappoints markets as Building Permits and Housing Starts cooled.
In the meantime, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari stated that it will likely take a year or two to bring core inflation down to 2%. He added that the trajectory of interest rates would depend on the economic conditions, emphasizing, "We are achieving disinflation despite remarkable economic growth."
Rising geopolitical risks helped the golden metal uptrend. Tensions in the Middle East are rising as Israel threatens to launch an attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon. That, along with the recently signed pact between Russia and North Korea, could increase the appeal for the yellow metal, which is trading near a crucial resistance level.
The CME FedWatch Tool shows that the odds for a 25 bps rate cut for September stand at 58%, down from 62% a day ago. In the meantime, the December 2024 fed funds futures contract implies the Fed will cut 36 bps toward the end of the year.
Daily digest market movers: Gold price rises amid high US yields and strong USD
- US Dollar Index prints gains of 0.405, up at 105.64, a headwind for Gold prices.
- US Treasury bond yields jumped, 10-year Treasury note yield is up more than four basis points to 4.257%.
- US Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending June 15 rose to 238K, exceeding estimates of 235K but lower than the previous reading of 243K.
- US Building Permits declined by 3.6% in May, dropping from 1.44 million to 1.386 million. Housing Starts for the same period fell by 5.5%, from 1.352 million to 1.277 million.
- Fed officials counseled patience on interest rate cuts and emphasized they would remain data dependent. Although last week's CPI report was positive, policymakers reiterated they need to see more reports like May’s data.
- Despite the US CPI report showing that the disinflation process continues, Fed Chair Jerome Powell commented that they remain “less confident” about the progress on inflation.
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