The current candle is trading in the green, but is still trading nearer to support level $1304.74.
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Fischer said on Friday that an interest rate hike could come in September and that the Fed’s decision would depend on upcoming economic reports including surveys due this week on employment and the manufacturing and service sectors.
On the week, the USA currency has gained about 1.5 per cent against the yen following comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen last Friday at a central bankers’ gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming that revived near-term rate hike prospects.
Gold is highly sensitive to rising US interest rates which increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion while boosting the dollar in which it is priced.
GBP/USD is supported in the range of 1.3018 now trading at 1.3075 levels.
The dollar reached a 2 1/2-week high in against other top currencies .DXY in European trading.
This is largely because more positive economic data would likely add fuel to expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates in the coming months. Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer told Bloomberg TV that the USA job market is nearing full strength and the pace of rate increases will depend on the economy’s health.
Oil prices fell roughly 3 per cent on Wednesday after data showed a large surprise weekly build in USA crude and distillate stockpiles and a smaller-than-expected drawdown in gasoline. However, the central bank has maintained that any increase would be gradual.
Gold touched its lowest level since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union back in June as it just managed to keep its head above the US$1,300 mark on Wednesday. Federal Reserve would not hike interest rates anytime soon. Canada’s gross domestic product data for the second quarter is due for release on Wednesday. “As such the dollar may not be able to sustain a prolonged advance even if the data is strong”, said Junichi Ishikawa, a forex analyst at IG Securities in Tokyo. Apple shares ended down 0.8 percent.
AUD/USD is supported around 0.7490 levels and now trading at 0.7508 levels. At the conference, central bank Chair Janet Yellen indicated that the case for tightening monetary policy had strengthened. In an interview on Tuesday, Fischer added that the U.S. job market is almost at full strength, and said the pace of interest rate increases by the Fed will depend on how well the economy is doing.
The Dow Jones edged 0.1% higher to 18,419. They moved initially in December, but their plans for subsequent rate increases have been derailed by global developments and a spattering of weak USA data points. Platinum was 0.7% lower at $1,062.99, while palladium was down 1.4% at $686.
Apple Inc was the largest weight on USA stock indexes on Tuesday after antitrust regulators ordered the company to pay about $14.5 billion in back taxes to the Irish government, but gains in bank shares partly offset the decline.
The S&P 500 and the Dow snapped a three-day losing streak yesterday, helped by a lift in financials and commodity stocks after strong consumer spending data pointed to a pickup in USA economic growth.
US equities were flat on Thursday as investors await Friday’s publication of the non-farm payrolls data. They are also pricing in a 55 percent chance of a hike by the end of the year.
Doubts remain about when US monetary policy will change, especially with an election in November.
Spot gold rose 0.3 per cent to $1,314.19 per ounce at 0415 GMT. US crude CLc1 was down 39 cents, or 0.83 percent, at $46.59 per barrel.
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Brent crude settled down 89 cents, or 1.81 percent, at $48.37 per barrel. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields US10YT=RR were last at 1.565 percent, roughly unchanged from late Monday.
