Gold Soars to 1,808 ahead of the Christmas Holidays – A Quick Update

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the US Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use approval for Molnupiravir, a COVID-19 pill developed by Merk & Co., which pushed up the prevailing risk-on market sentiment and limited the gains in the precious metal. Furthermore, a UK study has shown that Omicron infections were less likely to lead to hospitalization, suggesting, at the same time, that the variant might still produce many serious cases, due to its infectiousness. On the other hand, a study from the Asia Pacific showed that two doses and a booster shot of the Sinovac vaccine did not produce sufficient levels of neutralizing antibodies to provide defence against Omicron. This news also added to the gains in gold.

At 18:30 GMT, the Core PCE Price Index came in. It surged to 0.5%, against the forecast of 0.4%, and supported the US dollar. The core durable goods orders also rose, coming in at 0.8%, against the anticipated 0.6%, which boosted the US dollar. The Durable Goods Orders improved, rising to 2.5%, against the anticipated 1.9%, also supporting the US dollar. Personal income remained flat, in line with the expected 0.4%. Personal spending also remained unchanged at 0.6%.

The unemployment claims from last week surged to 205K, against the predicted 200K, supporting gold. At 20:00 GMT, new home sales declined to 744K, against the anticipated 770K, weighing on the US dollar. The Revised UoM Consumer Sentiment remained flat at 70.6, and the Revised UoM Inflation Expectations also remained flat, at 4.8%. Most of the data came from the US, which was favorable for the greenback and limited the rise in gold prices on Thursday.

The rising number of countries implementing measures to curb the spread of the Omicron variant also helped push up the price of gold on Thursday. Also on Thursday, China locked down the city of Xi’an, which has more than 13 million residents. This has been the biggest lockdown since the pandemic started in 2020. All residents have been advised to stay inside, and only one person from a family is allowed to go out every other day for necessities.

In the United States, President Joe Biden has ruled out the possibility of returning to a national pandemic lockdown, as in March 2020, despite the Omicron variant sweeping across the country. According to Biden, the country has increased vaccination rates and medical expertise, and the US does not need to return to the lockdown situation it experienced in March last year. This news pushed the US dollar a little higher on Thursday, and limited the gains in gold prices.