Omicron Fears Begin to Fall as Gold Prices Drop

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Gold was down in Asia on Tuesday morning, with a recovering dollar and rising US Treasury rates trapping the yellow metal in a $4 range. By 10:52 p.m. ET, gold futures had fallen 0.06 percent to $1,778.50. (3:52 AM GMT).

On Tuesday, the dollar fell slightly but held above $96 as concerns about the new omicron COVID-19 variety faded. Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent of the Bank of England stated on Monday that inflation in the United Kingdom might “comfortably exceed” 5% in April 2022, adding that a tight labor market risks becoming a more permanent source of inflation.

It’s been tough for investors to forecast how central banks will change their monetary policies to combat excessive inflation.

They are now looking ahead to the following week, when the Federal Reserve of the United States, the European Central Bank, and the Bank of England will all release their December policy decisions within 24 hours of each other.

The Reserve Bank of Australia held its interest rate constant at 0.10 percent when it announced its policy decision earlier in the day in Asia Pacific. A day later, the Reserve Bank of India followed suit. On the data front, Chinese data issued earlier in the day revealed that exports increased by 22% year over year in November, while imports increased by 31.7 percent.

The trade deficit was $71.72 billion dollars. The Perth Mint said on Monday that gold product sales in November increased by about 94% from the previous month, reaching an eight-month high.

The SPDR Gold Trust (P: GLD) reported a 0.2 percent drop in holdings to 982.64 tons on Monday, down from 984.38 tons on Friday. Silver and palladium both fell 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, among other precious metals. Platinum remained stable at $938.00.

Story by : Norvisi Mawunyegah