Gold rose to its highest level in almost a week in Asia on Thursday morning. In its most recent policy decision, the Federal Reserve of the United States did not specify a date for its tapering intentions but did state that it was way away from considering interest rate hikes.
Gold futures were up 0.81 percent at $1,814.20 after touching a high of $1,817.35 on July 20. The dollar, which usually moves in the opposite direction of gold, fell slightly on Thursday after hitting a two-week low the previous day. The Fed announced its decision on Wednesday, with asset tapering on the preceding two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting agenda.
However, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell emphasized that the U.S. job market still had some ground to cover before the Fed begins to trim its assets. However, he did not provide a timetable. He also underestimated the threat presented by the global proliferation of COVID-19 and its Delta variation to the United States’ economic recovery.
Reserve Bank of Australia
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is expected to postpone its planned asset tapering in the Asia Pacific when it announces its policy decision next week. The RBA had intended to begin asset tapering in September, followed by a review a few months later. The RBA’s decision comes four weeks after the plans outlined in the previous RBA policy decision, with extended lockdowns in Sydney expected to take a toll on the economic recovery.
Silver increased by 0.9 per cent, palladium increased by 0.6 per cent, and platinum increased by 0.8 per cent.
Gold Traders and Investors
Traders and investors are still absorbing the completion of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Wednesday afternoon. That included a news conference from Fed Chair Jay Powell. After initially believing the Fed was becoming less dovish, the central bank will not be in a hurry to back off from its overall accommodative monetary policies.
Overnight, global stock markets were varied but vastly higher. When the New York day session begins, the stock indices in the United States expect to open neutral. Market participants are now focusing on the weekly U.S. jobless claims report and the most recent estimate on U.S. GDP. The preliminary estimate for second-quarter GDP is up 8.4 per cent year on year.
According to the World Gold Council, worldwide demand for gold is still recovering from the pandemic. According to the World Gold Council, gold demand in the first half of 2021 was the lowest since 2008. Global gold consumption was 955.1 metric tons (M.T.) from April through June. It was down from 960.5 MT in the same period in 2020. Demand was 1,132.1 MT in the second quarter of 2019.
