2024-02-28 16:31:53
Gold futures prices dropped to near the $2,040 level, pressured by the strengthening dollar. This reduces the attractiveness of gold. By making gold contracts more expensive for holders of other currencies
At 11:06 p.m. Thai time, gold contracts on the COMEX (Commodity Exchange) market will be delivered in April. minus $2.30 or 0.11% to $2,041.80/ounce.
Investors will be keeping an eye on the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index tomorrow. The PCE Index is the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) preferred measure of inflation because it can detect changes in consumer behavior. and covers the prices of goods and services more broadly than the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Analysts expect the Headline PCE Index, which includes food and energy categories, to increase 2.4% in January year-on-year from 2.6% in December.
On a monthly basis, it is expected that the general PCE index increased 0.3% in January from 0.2% in December.
As for the Core PCE Index (Core PCE), which does not include food and energy categories. It is expected to increase 2.8% in January year-on-year from 2.9% in December.
On a monthly basis, it is expected that the core PCE index increased 0.4% in January from 0.2% in December.
The market is also keeping an eye on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who will deliver his semi-annual statement on US monetary policy and economic conditions to Congress next week.
Powell is scheduled to deliver a statement to the House Financial Services Committee on March 6, before addressing the Senate Banking Committee on March 7.
Investors keep an eye on Mr. Powell’s statement. This will take place before the Fed’s monetary policy meeting on March 19-20 to find signals indicating the Fed’s interest rate direction. After the United States released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) that were higher than previously expected.
The release of higher-than-expected inflation numbers has led investors to postpone their forecasts for the first Fed rate cut this year to June. It was originally expected to happen as early as March. But it was postponed to May. Before the latest, it was expected that the interest rate cut would happen in June.
Moreover, the higher-than-expected inflation figures have led investors to expect the Fed to cut interest rates by 0.25% only three times this year, up from more than four previous cuts.
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