Gold and silver prices are flat leading into the European open
London ((May 27) Gold and silver are heading into the European open slightly above flat. Gold closed yesterday -0.13% lower while silver fell 1.04%. In the rest of the commodities complex, copper has moved 0.81% higher while spot WTI is down half a percent.
After inheriting a positive handover from the U.S. bourses in the Asia Pac area traded mixed. The Nikkei 225 closed -0.33% lower while the Shanghai Composite (0.33%) and ASX (0.03%) both traded in the black. EU index futures are also pointing to a mixed open.
In the FX markets, all of the major pairs traded within their ranges. The biggest mover was GBP/USD which moved just 0.10%. Lastly in the crypto space, BTC/USD has fallen nearly 3% after the price failed to close above $40k following the gains made on Wednesday.
Looking at some of the news from overnight, China's state planner asks state-owned oil companies to report on their use of imported crude. There seems to be a crackdown on imported commodities at the moment. Maybe the state planner is looking into inflation in this area too.
China has banned lenders from selling commodity futures-linked products to retail investors. This is a curb to stop the price rally from gaining speculative momentum.
There has been some early data from Germany. The June reading of GfK consumer confidence fell below the analyst consensus to print at -7.0 (vs -5.2 expected).
In terms of data overnight, China Industrial Profits for April +57.0% y/y (prior +92.3% y/y).
U.S. President Biden backs an Alaska oil project (Willow) approved under Trump. Sticking with the U.S. President, Biden is prepared to extend infrastructure talks by up to two weeks.
China will extend more support to micro & small enterprises (MSEs) and self-employed.
U.S. Trade Rep Tai says China Phase 1 trade deal is very important. It has been said that the U.S. and China trade negotiators are sounding positive after talks on the phone.
On the COVID-19 front, Australia's second-largest state, Victoria, sent into a 7-day lockdown.
In Japan, the government is extending wages/employment support through to the end of July.
RBNZ Gov. Orr says the Bank is willing to lower interest rates if necessary. He added a negative economic shock would prompt increased stimulus. Just yesterday the banks forecasts indicated a hike could be coming by the end of 2022.
Looking ahead to the rest of the session highlights include U.S. core durable goods, U.S. GDP and initial jobless claims. There are lots of speakers and we could hear from ECB's Schnabel, Weidmann, Buba's Mauderer, ECB's Hakkarainen, de Guindos and BoE's Vileghe.
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