Gold prices fell as the dollar held steady after data
showed the U.S. economy added a larger-than-expected number of jobs in February - Gold on MCX settled down -0.23% at
30332 tracking weakness from Comex Gold prices which turned lower as market
sentiment remained supported by expectations for a less aggressive rate hike
policy by the Federal Reserve. The dollar initially strengthened after the
Labor Department reported on Friday that the U.S. economy added 313,000 jobs
last month, beating economists’ forecasts of 200,000. It was the largest
monthly increase in one-and-a-half years. However the report also showed that
average hourly earnings rose by just 0.1% in February for an annual rate of
2.6%, down from 2.8% in January. The slowdown in wage growth dampened
expectations for four rate hikes by the Federal Reserve this year. Meanwhile the
U.S. dollar index was steady at 90.13, not far from Friday's one-week highs of
90.36. A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of foreign
currency, while a rise in U.S. rates lifts the opportunity cost of holding
non-yielding assets such as bullion. In the week ahead, investors will be
focusing on Tuesday’s U.S. inflation data to gauge how it will affect the
outlook for monetary tightening in the coming months.
China’s aluminium oxide imports fall to new low in Jan - China's imports of aluminium oxide in January
fell for three consecutive months and touched a new low of 74,000 mt since
August 2017. This is down 48.6% month on month and 72.3% year on year,
according to China Customs. Higher prices of imports, over prices of domestic
supplies, accounted for the decline. Imports are likely to remain weak in
February given the impact of the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday and as profit
margins between domestic supplies and imports widen. SMM expects imports to
remain low in March in view of the 50% production cut at Hydro’s Alunorte
aluminium oxide plant in Brazil. The cur will lower supplies of foreign
aluminium oxide.
Oil prices fall on relentless rise in U.S. crude output - Oil prices fell on Tuesday, extending losses
from the previous session, as the inexorable rise in U.S. crude output weighed
on markets.Both crude benchmarks dropped by around 1 percent in their Monday
sessions. "Oil prices fell on the back of concerns that surging U.S.
production ... could push inventories in the U.S. higher," ANZ bank said
on Tuesday. U.S. crude oil production soared past 10 million barrels per day
(bpd) in late 2017, overtaking output by top exporter Saudi Arabia. U.S.
production is expected to rise above 11 million bpd by late 2018, taking the top
spot from Russia, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The
rising U.S. output comes largely on the back of onshore shale oil production.
U.S. crude production from major shale formations is expected to rise by
131,000 bpd in April from the previous month to a record 6.95 million bpd, the
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a monthly report on
Monday.
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