2023-10-24 04:35

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Gold prices traded in a mixed range on Tuesday, retaining most recent gains as traders watched for any more developments in the Israel-Hamas war, while focus also turned to a string of key U.S. economic readings due this week. Near-term demand for gold remained underpinned, with spot prices rising as the Israel-Hamas conflict fed safe haven demand. But a drop in gold futures signaled that gold bulls remained wary of higher-for-longer interest rates. Still, a drop in the dollar and yields from recent peaks also offered some relief to bullion prices. Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,975.71 an ounce, while gold futures expiring in December fell 0.1% to $1,986.55 an ounce by 00:14 ET (04:14 GMT). Both instruments remained within sight of a near three-month high. The yellow metal saw stellar gains over the past two weeks as the onset of the Israel-Hamas war sent investors squarely into safe havens. Markets are now watching for any further escalation in the conflict, although recent diplomatic missions from several world powers appeared to have staved off any major escalation. Yields, dollar retreat before econ data, Fed cues Treasury yields came off multi-month peaks this week, while the dollar also fell as markets hunkered down before a string of key economic cues this week. U.S. purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data is due later on Tuesday, and is expected to offer more cues on business activity amid high interest rates and sticky inflation. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is then set to speak on Wednesday, potentially offering up more cues on the path of monetary policy. The Fed chair recently reiterated that the bank plans to keep rates higher for longer, and also kept alive the possibility of one more rate hike this year. Powell’s speech also comes just a week before a Fed meeting, where the central bank is widely expected to keep rates on hold. Later this week, third-quarter U.S. gross domestic product data is on tap, while PCE inflation data- the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge- is set to close out the week on Friday. Any signs of economic resilience and sticky inflation gives the Fed more impetus to maintain higher rates, which bodes poorly for gold. The yellow metal could also see diminished safe haven demand if U.S. economic growth remains steady. Copper recovers from one-year low Among industrial metals, copper prices rose slightly on Tuesday, recovering from a near one-year low. The red metal was somewhat supported by some dialogue between U.S. and Chinese officials, which traders bet could result in improved relations between the economic giants. But other headwinds- particularly persistent concerns over China’s property market- limited any major gains. Copper futures expiring in December rose 0.4% to $3.5927 a pound. Copper bulls will be closely watching the U.S. economic readings this week, given that any signs of manufacturing resilience points to some strength in copper demand. But with economic conditions deteriorating across the globe, the outlook for copper remained dour. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/gold-prices-mixed-as-yield-rally-cools-us-data-barrage-in-focus-3206375

2023-10-24 04:35

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com - Gold prices dipped modestly for a second day in a row, staying not too far from the key $2,00 an ounce level Tuesday, as Europe’s economic woes helped the preferred safe-haven hold its own against the dollar — even as reduced intensity in the Israel-Hamas war created less need for hedging. Gold’s most-active futures contract on New York’s Comex, December, settled down $1.70, or 0.08%, at $1,986.10 per ounce. In the previous session, December gold dipped 0.3%, after a four-day run-up that added some $30 or 3% to the benchmark gold futures contract. “Traders may once again be wondering whether a run toward $2,000 is on the cards,” said Crraog The spot price of gold, more closely watched by some traders than futures, was at $1,973.49 by 15:10 ET (19:10 GMT), up 63 cents, or 0.03%, after a session low of $1,953.81. Traders said gold might have closed down a little more if not for Europe’s economic woes. Data out of Germany on Tuesday suggested a recession was underway. Britain's businesses, meanwhile, reported another monthly decline in activity, highlighting recession risks ahead of the Bank of England's interest rate decision next week On the Middle East front, diplomatic efforts convinced Israel to delay a ground assault on Gaza while the United States and other world powers negotiated the release of an estimated 200 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas, the Palestine militant group. Both the bears and bulls in gold seem astounded at how the yellow metal has embraced its safe-haven role in the conflict, leaving the dollar in the dust, as Comex futures went from mid-$1,800 an ounce to $1,900, $1,950 and finally $2,000 last Friday. Many agree that another breach of $2,000 wouldn’t be impossible, with most technical charts indicating that spot gold will run to $2,010 at least and $2,080 on the high end. Gold holding up despite 'triple-top' But gold prices are also flagging something else: A triple top formation, which in market lingo shows three peaks that typically signal that an asset may have moved from rally mode to selloff. Yet, some commodity technicians who have spent considerable time studying gold charts say the outcome might be surprisingly different. “While triple tops are usually considered as potentially bearish formation, this time the scenario indicates an exception to the thumb rule,” said Sunil Kumar Dixit, chief technical strategist at SKCharting.com and a regular collaborator with Investing.com. “The current price action seems to be waiting for a break above the horizontal resistance zone of $1,998 to prompt a rather quick run into the benchmark $2070-$2080 orbit.” (Ambar Warrick contributed to this item) https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/gold-prices-mixed-as-yield-rally-cools-us-data-barrage-in-focus-3206375

2023-10-24 03:48

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies advanced on Tuesday, reversing some recent losses as the dollar retreated from 2023 peaks before a string of key economic readings due this week, although risk appetite still remained weak. Soft purchasing managers index (PMI) readings from Japan and Australia also limited any major gains in regional currencies, as the data showed that business activity in some of Asia’s biggest economies was struggling to pick up. The Japanese yen rose 0.1% after briefly sinking as low as 150 to the dollar earlier this week. Traders believe that a breach of the level will attract currency market intervention by the government. Intervention in the bond market by the Bank of Japan, to tame overheated yields- also pressured the yen over the past week. The Australian dollar rose 0.3%, recovering from a near 11-month low tracking some optimism over China. Chinese yuan rises on some U.S.-China optimism The Chinese yuan added 0.2%, aided chiefly by news of a meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials to discuss domestic and global macroeconomic issues. The meeting, which was virtual, marked some improvement in ties between the world’s largest economies, which were at lifetime lows amid disagreements over semiconductors, Taiwan and allegations of espionage and human rights abuses. The meeting also pushed up some hopes that an ongoing trade war between the two countries will not escalate further, even as China recently blocked the export of key battery-making materials in retaliation for U.S. curbs on chip exports to the country. But sentiment towards China still remained weak, especially amid concerns over a debt meltdown in its massive property market. These concerns had battered the yuan in recent weeks, putting it at a near one-year low. Among other Asian currencies, the South Korean won and Singapore dollar rose 0.1% each, while the Indian rupee added 0.1% in holiday trade. The Thai baht was among the best performers for the day, rallying 0.5% on data that showed a substantial improvement in the country’s trade balance. Dollar weakens as yields cool, econ data barrage in focus The dollar index and dollar index futures fell 0.1% each in Asian trade, extending overnight losses after a recent rally in Treasury yields appeared to have run out of steam. 10-year yields retreated from 16-year highs on Monday, although they still remained in sight of the 5% level. Focus this week is largely on a string of U.S. economic readings, starting with PMI data due later on Tuesday, after which third-quarter gross domestic product data is due on Thursday. Then, on Friday, PCE inflation data- the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge- is set to close out the week. Markets will be watching for any signs of continued resilience in the U.S. economy, which gives the Fed more headroom to keep interest rates higher. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak on Wednesday, potentially offering up more cues on monetary policy before a Fed meeting next week. Still, the prospect of higher rates bodes poorly for Asian markets, given that they narrow the gap between risky and low-risk yields. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/asia-fx-creeps-higer-as-dollar-yields-retreat-before-econ-data-storm-3206355

2023-10-24 02:51

Investing.com - Litecoin was trading at $92.512 by 09:15 (14:15 GMT) on the Investing.com Index on Saturday, up 10.06% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage gain since June 30, 2023. The move upwards pushed Litecoin's market cap up to $6.840B, or 0.29% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, Litecoin's market cap was $25.609B. Litecoin had traded in a range of $84.487 to $92.910 in the previous twenty-four hours. Over the past seven days, Litecoin has seen a rise in value, as it gained 31.39%. The volume of Litecoin traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $907.389M or 0.83% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $69.1125 to $92.9103 in the past 7 days. At its current price, Litecoin is still down 77.97% from its all-time high of $420.00 set on December 12, 2017. Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading Bitcoin was last at $61,793.2 on the Investing.com Index, down 1.05% on the day. Ethereum was trading at $3,409.26 on the Investing.com Index, a loss of 0.83%. Bitcoin's market cap was last at $1,215.926B or 52.13% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while Ethereum's market cap totaled $410.318B or 17.59% of the total cryptocurrency market value. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/litecoin-climbs-10-in-rally-3322478

2023-10-24 02:49

Investing.com - Ethereum was trading at $2,081.85 by 16:26 (21:26 GMT) on the Investing.com Index on Thursday, up 10.30% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage gain since November 10, 2022. The move upwards pushed Ethereum's market cap up to $244.56B, or 17.76% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, Ethereum's market cap was $569.58B. Ethereum had traded in a range of $1,882.91 to $2,081.85 in the previous twenty-four hours. Over the past seven days, Ethereum has seen a rise in value, as it gained 12.69%. The volume of Ethereum traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $21.36B or 23.05% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $1,779.7897 to $2,081.8506 in the past 7 days. At its current price, Ethereum is still down 57.20% from its all-time high of $4,864.06 set on November 10, 2021. Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading Bitcoin was last at $36,702.7 on the Investing.com Index, up 3.04% on the day. Tether USDt was trading at $1.0001 on the Investing.com Index, a loss of 0.02%. Bitcoin's market cap was last at $714.33B or 51.86% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while Tether USDt's market cap totaled $86.29B or 6.26% of the total cryptocurrency market value. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/ethereum-climbs-10-in-bullish-trade-3229654

2023-10-24 01:34

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Oil prices rose on Tuesday, recovering a measure of steep losses as traders continued to seek new developments in the Israel-Hamas war, while a swathe of upcoming readings on business activity also came into focus. Crude prices tumbled around 3% on Monday as a series of diplomatic missions to Israel and Gaza pushed up hopes over a deescalation in the conflict. This was also accompanied by Hamas agreeing to free some hostages. The moves saw traders scale back bets that the conflict will spill over into the broader Middle East region, potentially disrupting oil supplies. But fighting between Israel and Hamas, particularly missile attacks from both sides, continued this week, while focus was also on a looming ground assault by Israel on the Gaza strip. Brent oil futures rose 0.5% to $90.21 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.4% to $85.86 a barrel by 21:12 ET (01:12 GMT). Oil prices had logged two strong, albeit volatile weeks of gains following the onset of the Israel-Hamas war. But they retreated sharply this week amid some profit taking and the absence of any major escalation in the conflict. Focus this week is now on key business activity readings from the U.S. and other major economies, as well as a European Central Bank meeting for more cues on the global economy and future oil demand. PMIs in focus as Fed meeting looms Purchasing managers’ index (PMI) readings from Australia and Japan showed on Tuesday that business activity in the two economies remained weak through October. Markets are now awaiting flash PMI data from the U.S., due later in the day, to gauge the state of business activity in the world’s largest fuel consumer. Both manufacturing and services PMIs are expected to have contracted in October, as high interest rates and sticky inflation weighed on local businesses. Readings from the euro zone and the UK are also expected to show a similar trend, potentially heralding weaker economic activity and softer fuel demand in the coming months. The readings come just before a Federal Reserve meeting next week, where the central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold. But it is also expected to signal that rates will remain higher for longer. Higher interest rates were a key source of anxiety for oil markets over the past year, as traders feared that economic activity will cool in such an environment, hurting oil demand. Still, this notion was somewhat offset by signs of substantially tighter oil supplies this year, following deep supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia. U.S. inventories have also consistently shrank this year, while the Biden administration recently outlined plans to begin refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-prices-rise-as-israelhamas-war-rages-on-econ-data-takes-focus-3206334