【TOP1 Evening】Gold nears $1,800 level as U.S. dollar, yields lose ground, Oil falls 3rd day

Gold

Gold prices steadied near a two-month high on Thursday, a whisker away from the key $1,800 threshold as the U.S. dollar faltered with easing Treasury yields, while supply concerns kept palladium anchored near last session's record peak.

Spot gold fell 0.33% to $1787.47 per ounce, silver rose 0.69% to $26.330 per ounce by 18:00 (GMT+8).

"What's obviously underpinning the upswing in gold is the dynamic in U.S. Treasuries ... which is sort of pushing lower in the very short term," said IG Market analyst Kyle Rodda, adding that a drop below 1.5% in yields could help push gold above $1,800, a key psychological level.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was pinned below 1.6%, reducing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. 

Gold prices could easily move above $1,800 in the next couple of days because there is still a lot of uncertainty in the global markets, said Harshal Barot, a senior research consultant for South Asia at Metals Focus.

"COVID-19 cases continue to be at record highs in a lot of countries and there is this whole revaluation about global growth prospects that should help safe haven assets (like gold)." 

India reported on Thursday 314,835 new cases of the coronavirus over the previous 24 hours, the highest daily increase recorded anywhere, as its second wave and similar surges elsewhere in the world raised new fears about the virus.

Hospitals across northern and western India including the capital, New Delhi, have issued notices to say they have only a few hours of medical oxygen required to keep COVID-19 patients alive.

More than two-thirds of hospitals had no vacant beds, according to the Delhi government's online data base and doctors advised patients to stay at home.

Japan, the world's No.4 oil importer, is considering a state of emergency for Tokyo and Osaka as new case numbers surge, broadcaster NHK reported.

More than 143.22 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 3,187,963 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

Forex

The dollar was pinned near multi-week lows against most major currencies on Thursday as fading gains in U.S. Treasury yields reduced the greenback's interest rate advantage.

The U.S. dollar index was 91.10 by 18:00(GMT+8).

The euro was in focus ahead of a European Central Bank (ECB) meeting later on Thursday, where any positive comments about the economic outlook or hints of tapering bond purchases are expected to send the common currency racing higher.

Sentiment toward the dollar has weakened as last month's spike in Treasury yields reverses course, but some analysts say the outlook over the longer term remains positive due to a strong U.S. economy and an improved coronavirus vaccination programme.

"We've confirmed that demand for Treasuries is healthy, which means there is no upward pressure on yields," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior foreign exchange strategist at I.G. Securities in Tokyo.

"In this environment, the dollar will test the downside against the yen. The euro is different because there are signs that people inside the ECB are more optimistic about the economy, which raises questions about tapering."

The dollar stood at 107.99 yen, close to a seven-week low.

The euro was quoted at $1.2043, not far from its strongest since March 3.

The British pound bought $1.3939.

Crude Oil

Oil prices fell for a third day on Thursday as a surprise build in U.S. crude inventories and a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in India and Japan raised concerns that a recovery in global economy and fuel demand may slow.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $60.989 a barrel, fell 0.07%, Brent was down to $64.457 a barrel, fell 1.92% by 18:00(GMT+8).

U.S. crude oil stockpiles unexpectedly edged higher in the week ended on April 16, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, confirming American Petroleum Institute data from the day before.

"Oil prices have been under pressure this week due to growing worries that surging number of COVID-19 cases in India and Japan will slow a recovery in fuel demand in Asia," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co.

"The market sentiment was further battered by the EIA's weekly data that showed an increase in U.S. crude oil."

Stocks

Stocks in Asia-Pacific largely rose on Thursday.    

Nikkei 225 rose 679.62 points or 2.38%, close at 29,188.17.

S&P/ASX 200 rose 57.90 points or 0.83% to close at 7,055.40.

Hang Seng Index rose 133.42 points or 0.47% to 28,755.34.

South Korea's Kospi rose 5.86 points or 0.18% to 3,177.52.

Taiwan capitalization weighted stock index fell 105.14 points or 0.61% to 17,096.97.

Europe stock markets opened higher on Thursday, At press time: 

FTSE 100 Index rose 10.63 points or 0.15% at 6,905.92.

Germany DAX 30 rose 72.29 points or 0.48% at 15,268.26.

France CAC 40 rose 47.16 points or 0.76% at 6,257.71.

Tesla's longstanding vice president of legal and acting general counsel, Al Prescott, has left the electric vehicle and renewable energy company to join Luminar, a lidar start-up.

The move is noteworthy in many ways. For one, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long insisted that lidar technology, or light ranging and detection sensors, is too expensive and not necessary for development of autonomous vehicles. Prescott's move to Luminar, where he will serve as chief legal officer, is an endorsement of the technology, however.

"Luminar has pioneered safety-critical technology that will power our autonomous future. As someone who's dedicated my career to automotive safety and innovation, I'm looking forward to helping drive Luminar to the next level and fulfill the mission to make transportation safer for everyone."

Luminar also announced that it's hired a new vice president of investor relations, Trey Campbell, a 20-year veteran of Intel. Campbell held the same role at the semiconductor company before jumping to the lidar maker. Intel's Mobileye unit is a Luminar partner.

Following Luminar's personnel announcement, its shares rose more than 15% to close at $18.93 on Wednesday.

Credit Suisse Group AG is raising $2 billion from investors and cutting the hedge fund unit at the center of the Archegos Capital Management losses as Chief Executive Officer Thomas Gottstein seeks to recover from one of the most turbulent periods in the bank's recent history.

Credit Suisse, which has exited about 97% of its exposure to Archegos, expects a related $654 million loss in the second quarter, taking its total hit from the collapse to about $5.5 billion. 

Before the U.S. stock market on Thursday, Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: C.S.) fell more than 5%.

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