Gold Prices Fall As Dollar Strengthens Ahead of Powell’s Second Appearance

Gold Prices Fall As Dollar Strengthens Ahead of Powell’s Second Appearance - Gold prices dipped on Thursday as the dollar remained strong following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments that spurred concerns of faster-than-expected rate hikes, while investors await his second appearance this week later in the day. Gold suffered its first monthly loss last month since October. Buying interest in the precious metal has been limited as concerns over rising interest rates put pressure on the metal because bullion pays no interest. Meanwhile, the dollar continued its bullish trend amid improving sentiment on the pace of rate hikes.

U.S. steel, aluminum executives invited to White House for possible announcement - Several top U.S. steel and aluminum executives have been invited to the White House on Thursday for what could be a major trade announcement, according to two people familiar with the meeting. U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to take steps to crack down on imports of steel and aluminum and has been considering imposing hefty tariffs on imports of the metals from China and other countries. The possible announcement comes as top aides to Trump meet with a senior envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House. The U.S. Commerce Department on Feb. 16 recommended that Trump impose stiff curbs on steel imports from China and other countries and offered the president several options ranging from global and country-specific tariffs to broad import quotas.

Copper dropped as China's manufacturing growth slowed more than expected - Copper on MCX settled down -1.33% at 457.2 as China's manufacturing growth slowed more than expected. Growth in China’s manufacturing sector in February slowed more than expected to the weakest in over 1-1/2 years as Lunar New Year holidays disrupted business activity and tougher pollution rules curtailed factory output. China is the world’s top metals consumer and its manufacturing sector is often seen as the main bellwether for base metals demand. Chile produced slightly less copper in January than it did in December, the government said. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said the rail project is designed to carry 50 million passengers a year and will involve the construction of five new stations and the laying of 92.4 kilometers (57 miles) of new track.

Oil Prices Flat In Asia Morning, Capped By Growing U.S. Production - Oil prices were mostly flat Thursday morning in Asia, rising and dipping only marginally amid larger-than-expected U.S. crude build-up.U.S. crude inventories increased by 3 million barrels last week, surpassing analyst expectations for a build of 2.1 million barrels, according to weekly data by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Oil output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) fell to a 10-month low in February, but soaring oil production in the U.S. has simply filled the gap in supply created by OPEC, putting a lid on prices. OPEC has been reducing output by around 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) since January 2017, and the pact will run until the end of 2018. Continued increase in oil production in the U.S. has, however, hampered OPEC attempts to ease the global oversupply.

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