Comments
Gold prices were steady on Monday, having dipped to a one-month low in the previous session after the US dollar firmed on the Federal Reserve's plans to gradually keep tightening borrowing costs.
Fundamentals
Spot gold was little changed at $1,209.57 per ounce at 0121 GMT. On Friday, prices fell to their lowest since October 11 at $1,206.13 per ounce. US gold futures were up 0.3 per cent at $1,211.7 per ounce. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, inched up 0.1 per cent. The greenback built on last week's gains and rose towards a 16-month high.
US producer prices
Asian shares fell on Monday, extending weakness in global equity markets at the end of last week as soft Chinese economic data and falling oil prices rekindled anxiety about global growth outlook. US producer prices rose more than expected in October and at their fastest pace in six years but measures of underlying price pressure cooled, bolstering the view that the US central bank is not facing a resurgence in inflation.
Former British foreign minister Boris Johnson had called again on Sunday for Prime Minister Theresa May to change course on Brexit, accusing her of forcing through a deal to keep the country locked in the EU's customs union in a “total surrender”.
Italy's economy minister is looking to revise down the budget's growth forecast for next year to try to reach a deal with the European Commission over fiscal policy, a government source had said on Sunday.
China’s inflation data
China's factory-gate inflation slowed for the fourth month in October on cooling domestic demand and manufacturing activity, signalling Beijing would likely roll out more growth-boosting measures in the face of trade frictions with the US.
Hedge funds and money managers cut their net short position in gold by 8,136 contracts to 37,486 contracts, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had said on Friday. Demand for physical gold gathered steam during a key festival week, shrugging off a recent downtrend going into the traditional busy wedding season, while other major Asian hubs saw limited activity.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.