Standard Chartered: Central Banks Remain Net Buyers Of Gold
Central banks were net buyers of gold in February and are likelyto remain so, says Standard Chartered. “Appetite to sell was limited,sensitivity to price volatility was muted, and purchases were dominated by asmall number of consistent buyers of size who view gold as a key asset,”Standard says. Russia added 22.8 tonnes of gold to its official reserves,following purchases of 18.9 tonnes in January, and 224 tonnes last year, the11th straight year of additions, Standard says. “Turkey also continues to addsignificantly to its reserves, buying 8.8 tonnes in February, followingadditions of 17.5 tonnes in January and 86 tonnes in 2017,” Standard says.“Turkey had previously added gold because it was accepted as a reserverequirement from commercial banks, but last year it started to add gold to itsown balance sheet.” Meanwhile, Kazakhstan added 4.01 tonnes in February and hasupped reserves each month since 2012, Standard points out. “We expect centralbanks to remain net buyers.”
By Allen Sykoraof Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com
RBC's Gero: Dollar,Stock Weakness Draws ‘Asset Allocators’ Into Gold
Monday April 02, 2018 09:32
“Asset allocators” areinterested in gold again due to a weaker U.S. dollar, says George Gero,managing director with RBC Wealth Management. Further, he cites some warinessof stocks and bonds, with “additional geopolitical headlines adding to concernsof investors, with headlines on escalating trade and tariff retaliations.” Asof 9:11 a.m. EDT, Comex June gold was $11.20 higher to $1,338.50 an ounce.
By Allen Sykoraof Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com
Analysts: Markets To Key On Wage Growth In U.S. Jobs Report
Monday April 02, 2018 09:32
The wage-growth portion of the monthly U.S. jobs report, which isdue out on Friday, will be a key for markets, analysts report. Expectations arefor March nonfarm payrolls to rise by somewhere between 167,000 and 190,000after a 313,000 gain in February, while the unemployment rate is seen edgingdown to 4% from 4.1%. “However, wage growth remains to be the keymarket-moving piece, after showing an unexpected fall from [a yearly rate of]2.8% to 2.6% last month,” says Hussein Sayed, chief market strategistat FXTM. “Given that one of the main arguments inmarkets today is whether the Fed will raise rates by another two or three timesin 2018, this figure will play an important role in pricing interest ratesexpectations, and thus the dollar’s direction.” Brown Brothers Harriman also says that “the focus has shifted from jobgrowth per se to hourly earnings,” although employment gains remain “robust.”The forecast is for a monthly wage rise of 0.3%, compared to a longer-term (12- and 24-month) average of 0.2%, BBHcontinues. “The base effect limits the impact on the year-over-year rate, but a0.3% increase would be sufficient to lift the yearly pace to 2.7%,” BBH says.“The 12- and 24-month average is 2.6%.” If so, the data may suggest that thejobs market “remains strong but with no compelling evidence of earningsacceleration,” BBH adds.
By Allen SykoraFor Kitco News
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