Gold and silver see steady price action as USDX pauses
New York (Apr 1) Gold and silver prices are trading not far from unchanged levels in early U.S. trading Thursday, following good gains on Wednesday that gave the bulls some resuscitation. The U.S. dollar index has paused late this week, which is also given the metals market bulls a bit more confidence. However, make no mistake that the gold and silver bulls have some heavy lifting to do in the near term to turn their markets around. June gold futures were last up $1.10 at $1,716.50 and May Comex silver was last down $0.087 at $24.445 an ounce.
Global stock markets were flat to narrowly mixed overnight, on this first trading day of the month and of the second quarter. Trader and investor risk appetite is upbeat Thursday after President Biden on Wednesday unveiled his U.S. economic rescue package, called the American Jobs Plan, at a cost of $2.25 trillion over eight years. The plan mainly addresses upgrading U.S. infrastructure and also includes tax hikes for higher-income Americans and businesses. The marketplace on this day is looking past a worrisome rise in Covid infections in Europe, including France imposing another business lockdown that will last about a month. Covid cases in parts of the U.S. are also on the rise.
U.S. and most European markets are closed Friday for the Good Friday holiday but on that day there is the release of the important U.S. employment situation report from the Labor Department, which is expected to show March non-farm payrolls gaining 675,000 jobs following a rise of 379,000 in February. The unemployment rate is seen at 6.0%.
In overnight news, the Euro zone March manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in at 62.5 versus 57.9 in February. A reading above 50.0 suggests growth in the sector.
The key outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index a bit weaker after hitting a 4.5-month high on Wednesday. The USDX is trending solidly higher at present. Nymex crude oil prices are near steady and trading around $59.25 a barrel. An OPEC meeting that began today is in focus for the oil market. The cartel is expected to keep in place its present oil-production quotas. Meantime, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is presently fetching around 1.715% after hitting a 14-month high of around 1.75% on Tuesday.
It’s a busy day for U.S. economic data released Thursday, including the weekly jobless claims report, the Challenger job-cuts report, the U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, the ISM report on business manufacturing, the global manufacturing PMI, and construction spending.
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