【Market Evening】Gold rebounded by nearly $20, Dollar jumps, Brent rose towards $72 and WTI approach $70
Market awaits crucial US nonfarm payrolls report! We can hit herd immunity by December, global Covid shots reach 2 billion! Oil rises on demand prospects; Dollar climbs as strong run of data.

Gold rebounded by nearly $20
At the beginning of the European market on Friday, spot gold rebounded sharply from the intraday low, and the lowest price of gold in the Asian market touched US$1855.06 per ounce in early trading.
Spot gold fell0.03% to $1869.88 per ounce, silver fell 0.19% to $27.365 per ounce by 18:00 (GMT+8).
Gold has wobbled after jumping the most in 10 months in May as investors weighed risks including faster inflation and the uneven recovery from the pandemic. The main focus for traders on Friday will be the U.S. non-farm payrolls report for May, for clues on the strength of the labor market.
“A much stronger ADP private payrolls report suggests that Friday’s non-farm payroll may also deliver positive surprises,” said Margaret Yang, a strategist at DailyFX. That’s strengthening the case for a tapering narrative, she said.
“The precious metal is solidly trading below the critical price level of $1,900,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade. Investors and traders fear that the strength in the economic numbers will push the Fed to adopt “a more hawkish stance” in monetary policy, he said, adding that this could mean more weakness for gold prices.
Dollar jumps as strong data
The dollar was perched near multi-week highs on Friday, basking in its biggest gains in about a month after robust jobs data threw investors’ focus on to the strength of the U.S. recovery and on the possibility of it driving policy tightening.
The US dollar index rose 0.04% to 90.53 by 18:00(GMT+8).
The next test comes later in the day when U.S. non-farm payrolls data is published. The Street’s consensus forecast is for about 650,000 jobs to have been added in May, though the “whisper number” among traders is higher, closer to 800,000.
Private payrolls — a bit of an unreliable guide — delivered a big beat overnight with an increase of 978,000, against forecasts of 650,000, which sent the dollar rallying.
It lifted 0.7% to a three-week high of $1.2118 per euro and rose by the same margin to a two-month high of 110.32 yen. Gains topped 1% against the Aussie and the kiwi, which fell from recent ranges to their lowest in weeks.
The Australian dollar was licking wounds at $0.7652, after falling to its lowest since mid-April overnight, while the kiwi was parked at $0.7136 after slipping to its cheapest since early May on Thursday.
Sterling was steady at $1.4099 in Asia after dropping through its 20-day moving average as the dollar climbed. The yuan fell to 6.4014.
Oil rises on demand prospects
Brent oil price rose towards $72 a barrel and WTI oil price approach $70
on Friday, trading close to a two-year high as OPEC+ supply discipline and recovering demand countered concerns about patchy COVID-19 vaccination rollout around the globe.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $69.006 a barrel, rose 0.35%, Brent was up to $71.480 a barrel, rose 0.37% by 18:00(GMT+8).
Both contracts climbed about $5 each in the past two weeks amid optimism that global demand for fuel was recovering from the depths of the pandemic.
“We continue to view oil demand recovery as largely a function of vaccinations,” JPMorgan Chase commodities analysts said in a note.
“America and Europe are well advanced in their inoculation efforts,” analysts noted, but sluggish vaccination roll-outs in developed and emerging Asian countries alike mean “there is no clear end in sight to social distancing restrictions in the region.”
Prices rose earlier this week as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies in the grouping known as OPEC+ predicted demand will exceed supply in the second half of 2021. OPEC+ agreed on Tuesday to continue with supply restraints through July, lifting prices.
Slow progress of the Iran nuclear talks is also expected to provide breathing room for demand to catch up before Iranian oil returns to the market if a deal is reached.
Meanwhile U.S. crude inventories dropped more than forecast last week although fuel stocks rose, suggesting demand for end-products is not matching refinery output.
“With the week’s big news and data on the EIA, OPEC+ and Iran fronts digested, the complex will likely go back to tracking sentiment in the broader financial markets and the next checkpoint for that is the U.S. May jobs data due out later today,” said Hari.
Asian stocks under pressure
Most Asian stocks fell on Friday, dragged by the technology sector as signs of a firming U.S. economy stoked worries about higher inflation and an earlier withdrawal of Federal Reserve stimulus.
Nikkei 225 fell 116.59 points or0.40%, close at 28,941.52.
S&P/ASX 200 rose 35.30 points or 0.49% to close at 7,295.40.
Hang Seng Index fell 47.93 points or 0.17% to 28,918.10.
South Korea's Kospi fell 7.35 points or 0.23% to 3,240.08.
Taiwan capitalization weighted stock index fell 98.75 points or 0.57% to 17,147.41.
European stocks were lower Friday as investors looked ahead to a key U.S. jobs report later in the session. At press time:
FTSE 100 Index fell 15.93 points or 0.23% at 7,048.42.
Germany DAX 30 fell 10.73 points or 0.07% at 15,629.68.
France CAC 40 fell 7.98 points or 0.12% at 6,499.94.
Inoculations against Covid-19 reached 2 billion as the world races to control the pandemic.
It took just over six months to reach the milestone, an extraordinary accomplishment precipitated by countries’ desperation to save lives and reopen their economies. Still, at the current pace, it will take nine more months to vaccinate 75% of the global population, a threshold that could provide so-called herd immunity.
The virus has stricken almost 172 million people and killed close to 3.7 million since the first cases emerged about 18 months ago. Lockdowns, social distancing and restrictions on movement have slammed the global economy.
Inoculations against Covid-19 reached 2 billion as the world races to control the pandemic.
It took just over six months to reach the milestone, an extraordinary accomplishment precipitated by countries’ desperation to save lives and reopen their economies. Still, at the current pace, it will take nine more months to vaccinate 75% of the global population, a threshold that could provide so-called herd immunity.
The virus has stricken almost 172 million people and killed close to 3.7 million since the first cases emerged about 18 months ago. Lockdowns, social distancing and restrictions on movement have slammed the global economy.
China now accounts for about two-thirds of the roughly 36 million shots given daily. The EU is administering the second-highest number, with about 3.6 million doses daily, followed by India with 2.6 million. Major nations that still lag behind include India, Indonesia, Japan and Russia, as well as much of Africa.
Focus Tonight
20:30(GMT+8):United States Non Farm Payrolls (MAY), Forecast: 650K, Previous: 266K;
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