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The number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. fell last week, indicating that the U.S. labor market remains stable despite an unexpected drop in employment in July. The Labor Department said Thursday that seasonally adjusted initial claims fell by 4,000 to 203,000 in the week ending August 22, compared with economists expectations of 208,000. Initial claims are currently at the lower end of the years range of 189,000 to 230,000, suggesting that even with weak hiring activity, layoffs remain low. The U.S. unemployment rate fell slightly again last month to 4.1%, a historically low level. If the labor market continues to remain stable, the Federal Reserve may be able to continue focusing on controlling inflation. U.S. inflation has been above the Feds 2% target for 65 consecutive months. Data showed that continuing jobless claims fell by 18,000 to 1.778 million, an indicator that can be used as a reference for hiring.The U.S. goods trade deficit widened to its highest level since early last year in July, with imports surging, primarily driven by increased shipments of capital equipment. Data released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed that the goods trade deficit widened by 17.2% in July from the previous month to $118.8 billion, the highest level since March 2025, compared to economists median forecast of $100.5 billion. The figures are unadjusted for inflation. Imports rose 3.7% in July, while goods exports fell 2.9%. The U.S. trade deficit has fluctuated in recent months. On the one hand, the war with Iran has boosted global demand for U.S. petroleum products; on the other hand, U.S. companies are stockpiling goods and raw materials to mitigate the impact of supply chain disruptions. Meanwhile, companies are adapting to changing tariff rates, and imports of artificial intelligence-related equipment remain strong.International oil prices rebounded somewhat and fluctuated near their intraday highs. A chart provides a quick overview of the pre-market conversion of domestic and international crude oil prices.Federal Reserves Goolsby: The biggest short-term concern right now is that inflation is out of control.Federal Reserves Goolsby: The current job market with low hiring and low layoffs is unusual.

Gold Price Prediction: XAU/USD bears at $1,650 on Fed hawkishness and China news

Daniel Rogers

Sep 19, 2022 14:34

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During early Monday morning in Europe, the gold price (XAU/USD) maintains a position close to the intraday low at $1,670. In doing so, metal prices endure the weight of a stronger U.S. dollar amidst a sluggish session caused by Japanese and British vacations. The cause may be related to the Fed's hawkish bets and China-related news stories.

 

US Dollar Index (DXY) reverses a two-day slump while posting intraday gains of 0.18 percent at 109.85 as of press time. Indicators of the U.S. dollar's value versus the six major currencies have recently been buoyed by the University of Michigan's September consumer sentiment report and the market's positive expectations on the Fed's next move. Consequently, the probability of a 75-basis-point (bps) rate hike by the Federal Reserve increased to 80%, while the market's estimates of a one-percentage-point increase in the Fed rate rose to 20% at the latest.

 

US President Biden stated elsewhere, "I'm more positive than I've been in a long time." The national leader also claimed that inflation will be brought under control. On the same line are the covid updates from China, which have unlocked Dalian and Chengdu while observing zero coronavirus cases in Beijing and one, as opposed to zero the day before, outside of Shanghai's quarantine zone. However, US President Biden's willingness to support Taiwan in the event that China assaults Taiwan and hawkish expectations for the Federal Reserve appear to weigh on the steel price ahead of the major monetary policy pronouncements.

 

In addition, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) reduces the 14-day reverse repo rate by 10 basis points to 2.15 percent. "With no maturing reverse repos on Monday, the Chinese central bank injects 12 billion yuan," reports Reuters. The same might have indicated that the dragon nation is not in recovery mode and requires more rate cuts than rate raises, which could have caused the gold price to plummet. The cause is China's position as one of the world's largest gold consumers.

 

In light of this, the S&P 500 Futures post modest losses while mirroring Wall Street's Friday close. Notably, the selling in Japan curbs bond movements in Asia, but yields are robust near the multi-day high due to fears of a recession and hawkish Fed views.

 

Moving forward, a light economic calendar and important market holidays may limit intraday XAU/USD price fluctuations. However, bears are expected to maintain control because to aggressive Fed expectations, which, if dashed, might defy the bearish chart pattern and spark the long-awaited rally.