Gold traded either side of unchanged overnight in a range of $1308 - $1314.30. It rose to its $1314.30 high during Asian time, aided by a modest pullback in the US dollar (DX to 96.64).
The dollar was pressured by some dovish comments from the usually hawkish Fed’s Mester (“At coming meetings, we will be finalizing our plans for ending the balance-sheet runoff and completing balance-sheet normalization”), and other hawk Esther George (supported pause in interest rate hikes so Fed could assess how much its past hikes have slowed the eco…inflation pressures did not appear very strong) and a continued rebound in the euro ($1.1323 - $1.1342).
During European time, however, gold retreated to its low of $1308, pressured by a bounce in the dollar (DX to 96.84). The DX was aided by a retreat in the euro ($1.1302) from a weak Eurozone Industrial Production report, and the pound ($1.2874) from misses on UK CPI and PPI.
Gold was also pressured by further gains in global equities, which were boosted from further optimism over US-China trade developments (reports Xi was to meet with US delegates Mnuchin and Lighthzer on Friday) and averting US government shutdown (reports Trump would sign the deal), and technical buying as the S&P finished above its 200-day moving average yesterday (2743).
The NIKKEI was up 1.3%, the SCI gained 1.8%, European shares were up from 0.2% to 0.6%, and S&P futures tacked on 0.2%. Firmer oil (WTI from $53.32 - $53.89) from a surprise draw in US crude inventories reported by the API last night along with the Saudi’s plans to cut production by 500k bpd contributed to the gains in stocks.
At 8:30 AM, though the mom US CPI report missed expectations, (0 vs. exp. 0.1%), markets focused...