Gold is at its highest level in 9 weeks as the dollar weakens.
Gold prices rose on Thursday, July 20, to the highest level in nine weeks, supported by the dollar’s weakness and bets that the US Federal Reserve may soon pause its rate hike cycle.
In spot trading, gold rose by 0.08% to $1978.10 per ounce. US gold futures increased by 0.01% to $1980.9.
As for other precious metals, silver declined by 0.12% in spot trading to $25.08 per ounce. Platinum also fell by 0.31% to $970.00, while palladium dropped by 0.63% to $1268.00.
Currency Market Review:
AUD/USD: The Australian dollar surged on Thursday, July 20, as the country’s job data exceeded expectations. Meanwhile, the yuan climbed following China’s move to curb its currency’s decline by easing financing rules across borders.
The data on Thursday showed that employment in Australia easily exceeded expectations for the second consecutive month in June, with a net increase of 32,600 jobs compared to May, surpassing the market’s expectation of a 15,000 increase. This propelled the Australian dollar to rise by more than 0.9%, reaching its highest level of the day at 0.6834 dollars.
NZD/USD: The New Zealand dollar also rose by 0.57% to 0.6299 dollars.
In Asia, the Chinese central bank and foreign exchange regulator announced that they had raised the total cross-border adjustment factor for companies and financial institutions. This move aimed to facilitate local companies in raising funds from overseas markets.
USD/CNH: The yuan jumped in domestic and foreign markets after this move, rising by more than 0.5% against the dollar.
GBP/USD: The British pound recovered some of the significant losses it had suffered following a sharp decline in the previous session after inflation data in the UK came in lower than market expectations.
The pound rose by 0.15% in the latest trading to 1.2958 dollars after declining by over 0.7% the previous Wednesday.
EUR/USD: The euro also increased by 0.24% to 1.1227 dollars, while investors await the European Central Bank’s policy meeting next week seeking further clarity on interest rate expectations.
DXY: The dollar index stabilized in the latest reading at 100.03, recovering some of its gains after last week’s decline of more than 2% in response to lower-than-expected US inflation data.
USD/JPY: The Japanese yen rose by 0.3% against the dollar, reaching 139.23.
Apple earns 22 billion dollars in one day, and AT&T stocks achieve the largest daily gains in 3 years.
The US indices closed with slight gains in Wednesday’s session, with Microsoft’s stock decline amid anticipation for the final round of companies’ financial results.
The trading volume on the US stock exchanges reached 10.98 billion shares, compared to an average of 10.57 billion over the last 20 trading days.
US30: The Dow Jones index rose by 0.3%, equivalent to about 109 points, marking the eighth consecutive daily increase, achieving the longest streak of daily gains in about four years.
US500: The S&P 500 index also rose by 0.2%, achieving the third consecutive daily increase, supported by a 1.7% rise in the banking index.
USTEC: Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite index closed stable after losing its early gains due to a 1.2% drop in Microsoft’s stock in Wednesday’s session.
AT&T stock:
AT&T stock jumped by over 8% in Wednesday’s session, achieving its highest daily gains in over three years.
These gains came after the telecommunications company stated that it does not intend to immediately remove lead cables from Lake Tahoe, pending further analysis.
AT&T shares had reached their lowest level this week since 30 years ago after analysts downgraded the company following a report on July 9 by The Wall Street Journal stating that AT&T and other telecommunications companies left toxic lead cables on poles, under the water, and buried underground.
Apple stock:
Apple’s stock rose by about 0.7% in Wednesday’s session, marking a new record closing and adding about 22 billion dollars to its market value in one day.
These gains came after media reports indicated that Apple is working on artificial intelligence offerings similar to the ChatGPT and Bard programs.
The reports mentioned that the iPhone maker has built its framework, known as “Ajax,” and is testing a chatbot called “Apple GPT,” according to some engineers.
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