【Market Evening】Gold prices stay at US$1,800 and oil prices soar by 4%. USD continue to hit new highs.

Asian stocks rebound

Asia-Pacific stock markets rose across the board. Prior to this, US stocks rebounded for two consecutive days, and market risk appetite rebounded. The Vietnamese stock market rose about 1.6%, setting a new one-week high; the Philippines stock market rose more than 1.5%; South Korea, Australia, and India stock markets rose more than 1%. However, the Japanese stock market is closed for holidays.

South Korea's KOSPI index rose 1.07% to close at 3250.21 points, ending its four-day losing streak. The semiconductor, steel, transportation, and textile sectors were among the top gainers.

Australia's S&P/ASX200 index rose 1.06% to close at 7,386.40 points, a record high. Most sectors rose, with energy and metal mining sectors leading the way.

Gold prices fell slightly

Gold futures prices fell slightly, staying at US$1,800, which was close to a one-week low. The market's worries about the number of infections rising again have calmed down. At the same time, the strengthening of the US dollar and rising risk appetite have weakened the attractiveness of gold to investors.

Global stock markets have also generally recovered. The US stock market has risen for two consecutive days and is once again close to a historical high.

DailyFX strategist Margaret Yang said, “Because the U.S. dollar is currently staying near its three-month high and Wall Street has rebounded for the second day in a row, it means that traders have got rid of pandemic concerns and returned to reinflation trading, putting pressure on gold prices.”

In the days to come, investors should also pay attention to the European Central Bank's monetary policy decision later today. It is widely expected that the European Central Bank will maintain a dovish stance and implement strategic adjustments for the first time.

Margaret Yang said, "It is widely expected that the European Central Bank will maintain a dovish stance, so this may cause the euro to weaken against the US dollar, and the US dollar will appreciate, which will be negative for gold. For now, the recent momentum for gold seems to be downward."

Spot gold prices fell 4.49 US dollars, or about 0.25%, to 1,79.12 US dollars per ounce. Gold futures prices fell 4.45 US dollars, or about 0.25%, to 1798.95 US dollars per ounce, the previous trading day hit the lowest level since July 12.

Oil prices maintain their upward trend

The U.S. WTI crude oil futures price fell 35 US cents, or 0.5%, to US$69.95/barrel. It rose to US$70.36 during the session and rose 4.6% yesterday.

The price of Brent crude oil futures fell 39 US cents, or 0.54%, to US$71.84 per barrel, up 4.2% yesterday.

Crude oil prices maintained their upward trend yesterday. With the overall recovery of financial market risk appetite, US WTI crude oil tested upwards of the 70 mark, although data from the previous trading day showed that US crude oil inventories unexpectedly increased, ending eight consecutive declines.

According to a report released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), as of the week ended July 16, US crude oil inventories increased by 2.108 million barrels, while the market was originally expected to decrease by 4.466 million barrels.

This is the first increase in inventories since late May. In the previous eight weeks, inventories have decreased by more than 40 million barrels, which partially boosted the U.S. oil price to a four-year high of nearly $78 per barrel. Investors are betting on the reopening of economic and social activities. , Fuel demand will recover.

USD continues to rise

The U.S. dollar continued to hit a three-month high, but then fell. The surge in infections pushed up the demand for the U.S. dollar as a safe haven. At the same time, the market waited for the European Central Bank’s monetary policy decision to provide clues to the euro zone’s monetary policy.

The US dollar index futures rose 0.02% to 92.998, and rose to 93.198 during the session, a new high since April.

The euro/dollar was basically flat at 1.1779, close to the low since the beginning of April; the dollar/yen rose 0.18% to 110.04. AUD/USD, which is highly sensitive to risk appetite, reported. Previously, data showed that retail sales in Australia fell 1.8% month-on-month in July, mainly due to the reopening of lockdowns in some regions.

The pound/dollar rose 0.03% to 1.3630. The market is worried that the removal of restrictions may trigger a surge in the number of infections in the United Kingdom, and the dispute between the United Kingdom and the European Union over Northern Ireland also affects market nerves. It is expected that the British government will issue a statement on the Northern Ireland Protocol later on Wednesday.

On the other hand, the UK’s public sector net borrowings fell to 22.8 billion pounds (30.95 billion U.S. dollars) in June, a decrease of 5.5 billion pounds from the same period last year. This news is expected to be positive for the pound.