Gold Prices Reacted to a more Direct Fed
The U.S. Comex gold futures have declined 3.35% week-to-Thursday, the
biggest weekly percentage loss since the weekly change as of 22 November
last year. Year-to-date, the gold futures have climbed 10.66%. The
S&P 500 Index and the Euro Stoxx 50 Index fare better this week,
climbing 1.68% and 2.80% respectively. The Dollar Index rebounded and
ended at 80.192 on Thursday, rising almost one percent this week. The
CRB Commodities Index declined 1.13% on Thursday, the biggest percentage
drop since 20 June last year. The U.S. 10-year government bond yield
has also jumped 10bp to 2.7725% on 19 March after the FOMC meeting.
US-centric Week
The latest weekly U.S. jobless claims were lower than expected at
320,000, the February existing home sales monthly change was in line
while the March Philly Fed Outlook jumped to 9 from -6.3 in February.
The Fed, as expected, tapered its QE by $10 billion on 19 March. The
stocks, bonds, and gold markets were clearly caught off-guard when the
Fed Chairman Yellen remarked in an interview in the Press Conference
that the interest rate would rise around six months after the end of the
asset purchases, which is expected to be before the end of this year.
In the prepared FOMC meeting minutes, the interest rate was said to stay
low for a considerable period of time. Yellen added that if the
inflation rate, currently at 1.2%, would stay below two percent, then
the Fed Funds rate will stay low longer. The Fed officials expect the
Fed Funds rate to rise to one percent in December 2015 and 2.25% in
December 2016, based on the median estimate. The Fed Funds futures now
show a 62% probability that the Fed Funds rate will first increase in
June 2015.
Other Factors on Gold
With inflation staying low, rising nominal interest rate will lead to a
jump in the real interest rate, which will likely cause the gold prices
to trade lower. The physical demand for gold in China remains quiet
after the Chinese New Year amidst the recent rise in the Renminbi
volatility. China’s gold prices continue to trade near a four-dollar
discount to London cash gold prices although volumes have reached a
three-week high. The Russian-Ukraine conflict seemingly has moved to a
regional arena despite the U.S. imposing financial sanctions on 20
senior government Russian leaders and businessmen who are close to
Putin.
What to Watch
We will watch the March flash manufacturing PMI from China, E18, and the
U.S. on 24 March, two Fed officials’ speeches, the March Germany IFO
Business Climate Index, and the February U.S. new home sales on 25
March, the U.S. Q4 final GDP and the Japanese February inflation rate on
27 March as well as the U.S. February core PCE price index on 28 March.
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21 Mar 2014 | Categories: Gold
