Gold edges up alongside dollar
Gold prices edged up on Monday as investors monitor dollar's movements and assess economic outlooks.
After her earlier warnings about economic slowdown in a third of the global economy, IMF Chief Cristalina Goergiva expresses optimism that the US economy might just avoid recession.
As recession concerns spread, major tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta, Twitter, and Amazon announced a big wave of layoff to cut costs.
Otherwise, the dollar index rose 0.1% as of 19:20 GMT to 102.07, with a session-high at 102.2, and a low at 101.5.
Gold prices rose 0.1%, or two dollars as of 19:22 GMT to $1,930.4 an ounce.
Wall Street gains ground as investors process corporate results
US stock indices gained ground on Monday as investors continue to analyse incoming corporate quarterly results.
Both Microsoft and Tesla will announce their quarterly results later this week for the last three months of 2022.
As recession concerns spread, major tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta, Twitter, and Amazon announced a big wave of layoff to cut costs.
Dow Jones rose 0.6%, or 202 points to 33,577 as of 15:43 GMT, while S&P 500 climbed 0.85%, or 33 points to 4006, as NASDAQ added 1.3%, or 150 points to 11,290.
Copper declines amid global economic uncertainty
Copper prices fell on Monday as the dollar rose against a basket of major rivals and amid uncertainty about the global economy.
After her earlier warnings about economic slowdown in a third of the global economy, IMF Chief Cristalina Goergiva expresses optimism that the US economy might just avoid recession.
As recession concerns spread, major tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta, Twitter, and Amazon announced a big wave of layoff to cut costs.
Otherwise, the dollar index rose 0.2% to 102.2 as of 15:05 GMT, with a session-high at 102.2, and a low at 101.5.
Copper futures due in March shed 0.1% to $4.24 a pound as of 15:59 GMT.
Oil resumes gains, Brent scales eight-week high
Oil prices rose in European trade for the third straight session, with US crude hitting seven-week highs and Brent scaling eight-week highs on expectations for stronger Chinese demand.
Prices are also bolstered by a weaker dollar, which makes dollar-denominated commodities cheaper to holders of other currencies.
US crude rose 1% to $82.53 a barrel, the highest since December 5, while Brent added 1.1% to $88.62 a barrel, the best since December 1.
US crude added 1.1% on Friday while Brent climbed 1.5%, the second profit in a row.
Global oil prices rose 2.5% on average last week, the second such weekly profit in a row.
Chinese Demand
Most institutions raises the growth outlook for China in 2023 after reopening the economy and easing Covid 19 restrictions.
Such strong recovery is expected to boost demand on fuel in the world's largest oil importer.
The International Energy Agency noted that energy markets could tighten this year if the Chinese economy opened up as expected.
The Dollar
The dollar index fell 0.4% on Monday, extending losses for the third straight session and almost touching eight-month lows against major rivals.
The decline comes as markets fully price in a smaller 0.25% rate hike by the Federal Reserve in February.