MARKET UPDATE

Gold on course for weekly gain as Ukraine, inflation boost safe-haven bids

Gold traded flat on Thursday, but prices were set for a second consecutive weekly gain as the Ukraine crisis and broadening inflationary pressures lifted the safe-haven metal’s appeal.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,974.28 per ounce, as of 0426 GMT. U.S. gold futures were down 0.4% at $1,977.60.

The metal has gained about 1.4% so far in the week. Most markets will be closed on Friday for a holiday.

 

Oil prices fall as market weighs mixed supply signals

Oil prices slipped on Thursday amid thin trading volumes ahead of a public holiday, as traders weighed a larger-than-expected build in U.S. oil stocks against tightening global supply.

Brent futures were down $1.14, or 1.1%, at $107.64 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were off $1.32, or 1.3%, at $102.93 a barrel at 0632 GMT.

Both contracts on Wednesday had shrugged off a large build in U.S. crude inventories to end the trading session roughly 4% higher.

 

Dollar Weakens, Euro Gains Ahead of ECB Meeting

The U.S. dollar weakened in early European trade Thursday, retreating from a two-year high as the rally in U.S. bond yields paused for breath, ahead of a highly anticipated European Central Bank meeting.

At 3 AM ET (0700 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.3% lower at 99.595, falling back from Wednesday’s intraday peak of 100.52, its highest since May 2020.

 

Singapore, Korea lead Asia’s central bank battle against inflation

Singapore and South Korea both tightened monetary policy on Thursday, hot on the heels of rate hikes in Canada and New Zealand, as global policymakers moved quickly to prevent soaring inflation from derailing a fragile world economic recovery.

While the four central banks began tightening policy last year to stem price rises caused by coronavirus-driven logistics bottlenecks, the war in Ukraine, which started Feb. 24, has since intensified supply pressures, heightening the urgency for policymakers to bring forward planned rate hikes.

 

Fearing high inflation, ECB to stay on course to unwind stimulus

The European Central Bank may outline on Thursday a clearer schedule for unwinding its extraordinary stimulus, as worries over record-high inflation trump concerns about a war-related recession.

The ECB has been reducing the pace of its money-printing programme for months, but it has so far avoided committing to an end date for the scheme, worried that the war in Ukraine and sky-high energy prices could suddenly change the outlook.

 

 

 

 

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