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Gold declines as dollar strengthens following data
Gold prices fell on Thursday as the dollar rose against most major rivals following important data.
In a partisan vote on Thursday, the House of Representatives voted in favor of Trump’s bill to cut taxes and increase military spending.
The bill, which has now moved to the Senate, is expected to increase government debt by trillions of dollars and spike the deficit, in a time of increasing concerns about tariff-related inflation.
The budget office at Congress estimates the cost of the tax bill at $4 trillion.
US 30-year treasury yields are up to 5.1%, the highest since 2023.
US 10-year note yields traded at just below 4.6%, with higher long-term yields usually pressuring the economy and impacting interest rates across economic sectors.
Earlier US data showed unemployment claims fell last week to 227 thousand, below estimates of 230 thousand.
US combined PMI rose to 52.1 in May from 50.6 in April, which was a 19-month nadir.
US services PMI rose to 52.3 in May from 50.8, while the manufacturing PMI rose to 52.3 from 50.2.
Otherwise, the dollar index rose 0.4% as of 19:44 GMT to 99.9, with a session-high at 100.1, and a low at 99.4.
On trading, gold spot prices fell 0.6% as of 19:45 GMT to $3294.5 an ounce.
US stock indices dip as investors assess bonds movement
US stock indices dipped mildly on Thursday as investors followed the movements of US treasury yields closely, ahead of a decisive vote by Congress on Trump’s tax reform bill.
In a partisan vote on Thursday, the House of Representatives voted in favor of Trump’s bill to cut taxes and increase military spending.
The bill, which has now moved to the Senate, is expected to increase government debt by trillions of dollars and spike the deficit, in a time of increasing concerns about tariff-related inflation.
The budget office at Congress estimates the cost of the tax bill at $4 trillion.
US 30-year treasury yields are up to 5.1%, the highest since 2023.
US 10-year note yields traded at just below 4.6%, with higher long-term yields usually pressuring the economy and impacting interest rates across economic sectors.
Earlier US data showed unemployment claims fell last week to 227 thousand, below estimates of 230 thousand.
On trading, Dow Jones fell 0.3% as of 15:59 GMT, or 111 points to 41,805 points, as S&P 500 shed 0.1% to 5841 points, while NASDAQ added 0.4%, or 85 points to 18,962 points.
Copper hits three-week trough on economic uncertainty concerns
Copper prices fell to three-week lows on Thursday as other minerals lost ground as well on uncertainty about demand and global economic conditions.
Copper prices fell 0.7% at the London Metals Exchange to $9462 per ton as of 09:38 GMT, after hitting May 1 lows at $9223.
Prices were pressured by a surge in Chinese copper inventories last week, snapping a streak of large withdrawal that continued for three weeks, with demand weakening in China.
Concerns about an oversupply as a smeltery owned by the Freeport Indonesia company resumed its operations before its deadline following a fire last year.
Investors are also concerned about the US financial stability after a decision by Moody’s to downgrade its credit rating.
A weaker dollar contained the losses and made the greenback-denominated minerals cheaper to holders of other currencies.
Crude lead fell 1.1% in London to $1952 a ton, after hitting May 9 highs at $1947.
Lead inventories at the London Exchange rallied by 91% in the past two days to 234 thousand tons, the highest since late 2024, while aluminum fell 0.2% to $2467 a ton, and Zinc shed 0.2% to $2688. Nickel lost 0.9% to $15,450, while tin lost 1.4% to $32365.
Otherwise, the dollar index rose 0.3% as of 15:40 GMT to 99.8, with a session-high at 99.9, and a low at 99.4.
On trading, copper July futures fell 0.4% as of 15:37 GMT to $4.65 a pound.
Oil prices deepen losses to a week trough on OPEC production forecasts
Global oil prices fell on Thursday and extended the losses for the second straight session, plumbing a week trough after a report about a potential July production hike by OPEC+, triggering oversupply concerns.
Prices are also pressured by higher US crude stocks for the second straight week, in a negative sign for demand in the world’s largest fuel consumer.
Prices
US crude fell 1.7% today to $60.27 a barrel, the lowest in a week, with a session-high at $61.71.
Brent tumbled 1.65% to $63.57 a barrel, a week low, with a session-high at $64.99.
On Wednesday, US crude fell 1.5%, while Brent shed 1.45%, the first loss in four days on profit-taking.
OPEC+
Bloomberg reported that OPEC+ is considering another large production hike in July.
The report showed that the hike is estimated at 411 thousand bpd, but no final agreement was reached yet.
OPEC is working on reducing its previous production cuts and adding large amounts of supplies to the market in May and June, with Reuters reporting that total production hikes until November could reach 2.2 million bpd.
US stock
Official data from the Energy Information Administration showed US crude stocks rose 2.5 million barrels in the week ending May 16, the second weekly rise in a row, while analysts expected a drop of 1.9 million barrels.
According to the data, total stocks rose to 448.6 million barrels, the highest since July 2024 in a negative sign for US demand.