【TOP1 evening】 Gold price fluctuates within a narrow range, U.S. dollar remains flat, waiting for news from FED

Gold: Gold price fluctuates within a narrow range

Spot gold fell 0.1% to US$1,849.16 per ounce. US gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,847.50 per ounce. Spot silver fell 0.1% to US$25.41, spot platinum fell 0.7% to US$1,091.08, and spot palladium fell 0.1% to 2,322.66.

"Gold prices seem to be in a stable mode, investors are waiting for the Fed's decision," OANDA senior Market strategist Jeffrey Halley said. "If Powell continues to maintain an extremely moderate stance and expresses that he does not intend to tighten policy, it may boost gold to $1,880; if his stance on economic recovery sounds optimistic, the price of gold may reach a level near 1,800," Halley said.

Crude oil: higher during Asian trading hours

The March crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange had an increase of 0.40% before the deadline, trading at USD52.82 per barrel. The April transaction price of Nymex Brent crude oil rose by 0.36% to USD55.84 per barrel; while the contract price of Brent crude oil and crude oil was set at USD3.02 per barrel.

According to data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API), the US API crude oil inventories decreased by 5.272 million barrels for the week ended January 22, an expected increase of 603,000 barrels; gasoline inventories increased by 3.058 million barrels; refined oil inventories increased by 1.398 million barrels.

The implementation rate of OPEC's production reduction agreement in January was close to 100%. The company predicted on January 12 that the implementation rate in December was 82%. According to the company's estimates, the implementation rate of non-OPEC oil-producing countries subject to production reduction agreements was 64% in December. The company did not immediately give a forecast for the implementation rate of OPEC+ production cuts in January.

Barclays maintains its expectation of bullish oil prices in the second half of 2021, but said that the risk of an increase in Asian new crown cases and the disappearance of the aforementioned short-term factors may lead to a short-term pullback in oil prices. The 2021 oil price estimate is raised by US$2. At present, the average price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is estimated to be US$52 per barrel, and the average price of Brent crude oil is US$55 per barrel.

Forex: U.S. dollar is on the defensive

The US dollar index was little changed in early Asian trading, trading at 90.172, and fell 0.2% on Tuesday. The U.S. dollar was trading at 103.61 yen against the yen. After falling by 0.1% overnight, it was almost flat today. The euro was basically flat at 1.21625 US dollars, up about 0.1% on the previous trading day. The Australian dollar rose 0.1% to US$0.7751 after rising 0.5% on Tuesday. The pound climbed, reaching a high of $1.3753, the highest since May 2018, and then at 1.3746, an increase of 0.1%.

The market awaits a speech by Chairman Powell of the US Federal Reserve, and Powell is expected to reiterate his commitment to maintaining the ultra-loose policy.

Stock market: Japanese and European stock markets closed higher

After the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its global economic growth forecasts, the market was looking forward to improving corporate profits. At the same time, Nikko Denko's stock price jumped because of the company's revised profit prospects.

The Nikkei index .N225 closed up 0.31% to 28,635.21 points, and the top stock index .TOPX closed up 0.65% to 1,860.07 points.

The British FTSE index closed at 6654 points, up 15 points, or 0.23%; the German DAX index closed at 13,870 points, up 227 points, or 1.66%; the French CAC index closed at 5523 points, up 51 points, or an increase of% 0.93.