SP Angel: Gold 'Still Holds Its Haven Status'
Gold might be range-bound lately but the metalis still holding up due to its safe-haven status, says commodities brokerage SPAngel. Stock-index futures are pointing to a higher open on Wall Street in thewake of Friday’s news that the U.S. economy added 313,000 jobs last month. Butwhile lower, gold has not sold off sharply. “The precious metal still holds itshaven status, remaining persistently over $1,300/oz, as uncertainties remainover President Donald Trump’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un andthe impact of the trade tariffs,” SP Angel says. As of 8:10 a.m. EDT, spot goldwas down $5.70 to $1,317.20 an ounce. The metal has been in a trading range ofroughly $1,303 to $1,341 since Feb. 20.
By Allen Sykoraof Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com
MKS: Platinum Steadies Since Holding At 200-Day Average
Monday March 12, 2018 8:57
Spot platinum has bounced since holding near the 200-daymoving average last week, says Sam Laughlin, senior precious-metals trader withMKS (Switzerland) S.A. As of 8:11 a.m. EDT, spot metal was down $4.50 to$960.20 an ounce. The 200-day average has stood in the $948 area for severaldays in a row. The market bottomed at $947.19 last week before righting itself.“A close above $1,000 will likely be required to encourage a further leghigher; however, participants should be encouraged by light positioning,currently sitting toward the lowest level since 2016,” Laughlin adds.
By Allen Sykoraof Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com
FXTM, U.S. CPI, Retail Sales To Be Keys For Markets
Monday March 12, 2018 8:57
Key U.S. economic data that markets will be closelyscrutinizing thisweek include the Consumer Price Index on Tuesday and retail sales on Wednesday,says Hussein Sayed,chief market strategist at FXTM. The CPI report comes not long before nextweek’s meeting of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee. “Consumerprices are expected to have cooled down last month after surging 0.5% inJanuary, but the headline CPI is still forecasted to rise 2.2% YOY[year-on-year], from 2.1%,” Sayed says. “Investors are likely to give moreattention to the core CPI, and if it remained steady at 1.8% [year-on-year],there would be no reason to think that the Fed will take an aggressive stancewhen it meets. Retail sales are expected to rebound after falling for twoconsecutive months. If they met the anticipated 0.3% rise, this may suggestthat the tax cuts are finally encouraging consumers to save less and spendmore.”
By Allen SykoraFor Kitco News
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