Gold gains as dollar retreats, U.S. jobs report signals slow recovery
· Gold rebounded above the $1,800 psychological level on Friday, helped by a retreat in the dollar and data showing slower-than-expected growth in U.S. employment underpinning the need for additional financial support.
· Spot gold climbed 1% to $1,810.26 per ounce by 1:58 p.m. EST , after falling to its lowest since Dec. 1 on Thursday. U.S. gold futures settled up 1.2% at $1,813.
· “Gold continues to primarily take its lead from the dollar and we expect this to remain the case in the coming sessions,” said Suki Cooper, analyst at Standard Chartered.
“Beyond the near term, we believe the outlook remains constructive for gold given the fiscal stimulus is likely to result in large U.S. twin deficits.”
· Making gold cheaper for holders of other currencies, the dollar retreated 0.6%.
· U.S. employment growth rebounded moderately in January and job losses in the prior month were deeper than initially thought.
· The U.S. House of Representatives will take up final approval on Friday of a budget measure that would let Democrats push the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package through Congress.
· Gold is considered a hedge against inflation and currency debasement likely spurred by widespread stimulus.
· For the week, however, gold is down 1.9%, its biggest decline since the week ended Jan. 8, in part due to higher U.S. Treasury yields, because they increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
· As investors shift their focus toward the U.S. economic outlook and eye riskier assets, gold may weaken in the short term, said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM.
· Spot silver gained 2.2% to $26.87 per ounce, but was down about 0.4% for the week. Prices have shed more than 10% since scaling a multi-year peak of $30.03 on Monday, propelled by a GameStop-style retail frenzy.
· Palladium gained 2.1% to $2,330.04, and was headed for its best week since November 2020.
· Platinum rose 2.2% to $1,121.58 and was on track for the best week since December 2020.
· The Labor Department said the U.S. added 49,000 jobs in January, slightly below the 50,000 payrolls expected by economists.
The unemployment rate fell to 6.3%, better than projections of 6.7%. December’s numbers were revised much lower, with the month posting a loss of 227,000 from the initial reading of 140,000 jobs lost.
· Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, hits a record high above $1,700
The cryptocurrency ether hit a fresh all-time high on Friday, surging past $1,700 for the first time.
Ether, which is the world’s second-largest digital coin by market value, climbed 11.2% to a price of $1,743 at around 10:30 a.m. ET, according to data from CoinDesk.
Ether has been steadily rising this week as investors await the highly anticipated launch of ether futures contracts from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange next week.
· House aims to pass Covid relief bill within two weeks as budget reconciliation moves forward, Pelosi says
The House aims to pass a coronavirus relief bill within two weeks, as Democrats push ahead with the process that enables them to approve a rescue package with no Republican votes, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday.
“On Monday we will begin working on the specifics of the bill,” Pelosi told reporters after meeting with Biden and Democratic House committee chairs at the White House. House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., said it will have the votes to pass despite some concerns within the party about its cost.
The Senate passed a budget resolution early Friday, as Democrats move forward with the process to pass a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill without Republican votes. The package includes $1,400 stimulus checks, a supplemental jobless benefit and Covid-19 vaccine and testing funds.
President Joe Biden on Friday warned that Republican efforts to pass a smaller bill would only prolong the economy’s path to recovery.
· Biden says $15 minimum wage won’t survive Covid relief talks, promises to push for pay hike later
President Joe Biden said this weekend that it is unlikely a $15 federal minimum wage provision makes it into the next Covid-19 relief package, hitting pause on a key campaign promise as Democrats in Congress press ahead to pass $1.9 trillion in stimulus without Republican support.
Biden said his administration would push for a stand-alone bill to raise the minimum wage.
· Yellen says U.S. could return to full employment next year if Congress passes $1.9 trillion stimulus
· U.S. Treasury's Yellen: Americans earning $60,000 should get stimulus checks
· U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen: Too soon to say if changes needed to address market volatility
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday that it is too soon to say whether new policies or regulations are needed to deal with recent market volatility.
· Euro zone recovery delayed, to gather pace from mid-year - Lagarde
Europe’s recovery from a recession induced by the COVID-19 pandemic has been somewhat delayed but should pick up pace from mid-year, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said in comments published by a French newspaper on Sunday.
With euro zone nations locking down their economies to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, the bloc’s economy shrank last quarter and a contraction in the first three months of 2021 is a distinct possibility as much of the services sector remains shut.
· CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:
Global Cases: 106.67 (+343,068)
Global Deaths: 2.32M (+7,778)
No. 1
U.S. Cases: 27.60M (+87,501)
U.S. Deaths: 474,933(+1,340)
No. 2 -6
India Cases: 10.83M (+11,673)
Brazil Cases: 9.52M (+26,845)
Russia Cases: 3.96M (+16,048)
UK Cases: 3.94M (+15,845)
France Cases: 3.33 (+19,715)
Asian Updates:
No. 37
Japan Cases: 403,435 (+2,080)
Japan Deaths: 6,338 (+95)
No. 83
China Cases: 89,692 (+11)
China Deaths: 4,636
No. 86
South Korea Cases: 80,896 (+372)
South Korea Deaths: 1,471 (+7)
No. 115
Thailand Cases: 23,371 (+237)
Thailand Deaths: 79
· More Than 131 Million Shots Given: Covid-19 Tracker
In U.S. Americans have now received at least one dose than have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began. So far, 42 million doses have been given, according to a state-by-state tally. In the last week, an average of 1.46 million doses per day were administered.
· France reports fresh fall in number of new COVID-19 cases
France reported a fall in new COVID-19 infections on Sunday for the fourth successive day.
· Australia reports no new local coronavirus cases ahead of Australian Open
· U.K. coronavirus strain is doubling in the U.S. every 10 days, study finds
· UK says COVID-19 booster and annual vaccinations very probable
· AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine works against Covid variant found in the UK, data shows
· South Africa halts AstraZeneca vaccinations after data shows little protection against mutation
· China approves Sinovac Biotech Covid vaccine for general public use
Sinovac Biotech said on Saturday that its unit’s Covid-19 vaccine has been formally approved for use by the general public by China’s medical products regulator.
It marks the second Covid-19 vaccine green-lighted for public use in China, after a shot developed by a Beijing institute affiliated to state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) was approved in December.
Prior to the approvals, both vaccines have already been used in China’s vaccination program mainly targeting key groups deemed to be at higher risk of exposure to the virus.
Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, and Laos have granted emergency authorizations for the CoronaVac vaccine developed by Sinovac Life Sciences, Sinovac said in a news release.
The approval is based on the two-month results from late-stage clinical trials overseas, from which the final analysis data has not yet been obtained, Sinovac said.
· Biden says there will be ‘extreme competition’ with China, but won’t take Trump approach
President Joe Biden said his administration was ready for “extreme competition” with China but that his approach would be different than his predecessor.
“I’m not going to do it the way Trump did. We are going to focus on the international rules of the road,” Biden told in a CBS interview clip published Sunday.
“We need not have a conflict but there is going to be extreme competition,” he added.
In his interview with CBS, Biden said that he had not yet spoken to China’s Xi Jinping since ascending to the nation’s highest office last month.
· China issues new anti-monopoly rules targeting its tech giants
China’s market regulator released new anti-monopoly guidelines on Sunday that target internet platforms, tightening existing restrictions faced by the country’s tech giants.
The new rules formalize an earlier anti-monopoly draft law released in November and clarify a series of monopolistic practices that regulators plan to crack down on.
The guidelines are expected to put new pressure on the country’s leading internet services, including e-commerce sites such as Alibaba Group’s Taobao and Tmall marketplaces or JD.com. They will also cover payment services like Ant Group’s Alipay or Tencent Holding’s WeChat Pay.
U.S. and China top diplomats talk tough on Myanmar and Taiwan in tense first call since Biden took office
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for China to condemn the military coup in Myanmar and warned Beijing that Washington will work with its allies to hold the People’s Republic accountable for what he described as its efforts to threaten international stability particularly in the Taiwan Strait.
· Myanmar generals shut down internet as thousands protest coup
· Exports from UK to EU down 68% since Brexit trade deal, say hauliers
· Iran takes 'final' stance on nuclear deal, says U.S. must lift sanctions before Tehran rejoins
· Iran must stop enriching uranium beyond nuclear deal's limits - U.S. official
U.S. President Joe Biden meant to convey that Iran needs to stop enriching uranium beyond the limits permitted under the Iran nuclear deal in a television interview broadcast on Sunday, a senior Biden administration official said.
· Hedge funds bet on oil's 'big comeback' after pandemic hobbles producers
· JPMorgan still favors Chinese market in the long run
Tai Hui of JPMorgan Asset Management explains how potential pullbacks in the short term could present “interesting opportunities” in Chinese stocks and fixed income.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters, Worldometers, Bloomberg
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