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Gold and silver are starting the EU session in the red after falling in the Asia Pac session. The yellow metal is down -0.26% while silver trades nearly 1% in the red below the $25/oz psychological handle. It was not much better in the rest of the commodities complex as copper lost 1% of its value and spot WTI fell 1.77%.
The risk sentiment overnight was mixed as the Nikkei 225 (0.71%) and Shanghai Composite (0.55%) both closed higher but the ASX dropped -0.36%. In the FX space, the dollar index (0.11%) was firmer and the biggest casualty was the Canadian dollar as USD/CAD traded 0.36% in the black.
In news from the Asian session, Suez Canal authorities confirm that Ever Given has been successfully refloated. This hopefully means that the ships stranded either side can start moving again.
In Australia, there has been another COVID-19 case and the State of South Australia will close the border with Queensland. This comes after the nation had been handling the pandemic extremely well and managed to open up its economy.
Germany is also struggling with a third coronavirus wave and Germany's Merkel says the country need curfews, may use Federal law to tighten restrictions.
US Trade Representative Tai says the U.S. isn’t ready to lift tariffs on Chinese imports soon. Tensions between the two economic powerhouses remain high especially as the plight of the Uighur Muslims still remains a hot topic.
ECB chief economist Philip Lane stated, “There is a clear risk of self-fulfilling adverse dynamics taking hold". He added “To counter these risk factors, it is essential that the ECB acts as a stabilising force and boosts confidence by committing to the preservation of favourable financing conditions”.
In the UK BoE's Tenreyro has stated he does not currently see any sustained pick up in demand or inflation. He then added that the BoE stands ready to take whatever action is necessary to achieve its remit.
The White House Press secretary Psaki has said that President Biden plans to split his "build back better" package into two separate proposals.
Looking ahead to the rest of the session highlights include the ECB PEPP purchases and comments from ECB's de Cos.
By Rajan Dhall
For Kitco News
