Overnight, gold prices were little changed near a three-week high in North American trade on Wednesday, as investors focused on the next set of US data and Fed speakers for further guidance on the timing of the next interest rate hike.
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Bank of Canada is scheduled to announce its interest rate decision at 10:00 a.m. ET. While the U.S.is on a long streak of job growth, reports over the last few months have been inconsistent.
As weak US service sector data darken the economic outlook and elevated uncertainties over whether the Fed will increase interest rates this year, the dollar decline compared to the other major currencies this Wednesday. However, a weaker-than-expected August jobs report and a steeper decline in services growth in the us last month have reduced the chances of a rate move as soon as this month.
In Seoul the KOSPI rose 1.1 percent but South Korea’s biggest shipping firm Hanjin slumped 30 percent at the open as its stock began trading again after being suspended on Tuesday as it filed for bankruptcy protection.
Once rate hikes restart, Williams predicted, the path of increase will be the “shallowest in American history”.
The report also showed that average hourly earnings surge 0.1% in August, below expectations for a 0.2 percent increase and after a 0.3 percent increase the prior month.
“The failure of Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia to take any steps to support the market is sending us lower”, said Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA Inc.in NY.
Reversing from an early high of 1.2862 against the loonie, the greenback edged down to 1.2833.
“Time is not on our side”, Williams said. Then ECB meets on Thursday.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4 per cent, extending its chunky gains of 2.7 per cent over the last two days.
The greenback has fallen 1.09 percent against the franc, 1.8 percent against the yen, 0.9 percent against the euro and 1.01 percent against the pound since last Friday.
Japan’s Nikkei slid 0.7 per cent, however, as the yen gained sharply versus the USA dollar, putting more pressure on exporters in the world’s third-largest economy.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot index, which tracks the currency against 10 major peers, retreated 1 percent at 4 p.m.in NY. “Since the BOK governor has been saying several times that the BOK rate should be higher than that of major countries, it is expected to keep the rate unchanged at least in September”.
On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, gold for December delivery dropped 0.3 per cent to 290.10 yuan a gram, while silver lost 0.2 per cent to 4,406 yuan a kilogram. The dollar’s slide increased the allure of commodities, spurring a rally in gold and a rebound in crude traded in NY.
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Brent crude futures stood at US$47.49 per barrel, up 0.5 per cent on the day and above its low last week of US$45.32. It rose as high as $49.40 on Monday, having fallen to $45.32 on September 1.
