GoldPrice

US industrial production had the worst month since 1946, with coronavirus containment procedures shutting down manufacturers and crippling supply chains worldwide. Factory output fell 6.3% in March following a mere 0.1% drop in February, far worse than the 4.1% drop excepted. Overall industrial production including mining and utilities output also saw the worst performance since 1946, dropping 5.4% vs. 4% expected. April performance is likely to be even worse.

The Empire State Manufacturing Index has sunk to a record low of -78.2 in April, more than double the previous low of -34.3 which was seen during the Great Recession. Economists had forecast an April drop to -32.5. The vast majority of respondents reported worse conditions over the past month.

March saw the largest one-month drop in retail sales since records began over 30 years ago, with the coronavirus pandemic shutting down stores and restricting spending nationwide. While some stores did see gains due to rising demand for essential items, these gains were offset by sharp drops in the majority of categories.

Good morning, traders. Welcome to our regular preview of the market week ahead, with a particular focus on the economic data and market narratives that could have the biggest impact on gold prices, as well as the US Dollar and other correlated assets.

Happy Friday, traders. Welcome to our weekly market wrap, this time covering what has been a holiday-shortened trading week for most markets. As always, we’ll focus on the economic data and headlines impacting gold prices, as well as the US Dollar and other correlated assets.

Consumer prices in the US fell 0.4% last month, according to the latest consumer price index reading from the Labor Department. The figure was slightly lower than the expected drop of 0.3%.

The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index saw the largest monthly drop ever according to the latest report, tanking 20.3% to just 71. The current conditions index fell over 30%, reflecting the dire economic circumstances now affecting hundreds of millions of Americans, with tens of millions out of work and businesses still in shut-down around the country.

Producer Prices fell 0.2% month over month in March and rose just 0.7% annually. Core-PPI, which excludes the volatile components of food, energy, and trade services, fell 0.2% in March and rose 1% annually. Energy prices fell 6.7% in March, dragging down the headline figure. Food prices remained flat, while trade service costs rose 1.4%.

Initial jobless claims for the week ended April 04 came in at 6,606,000, down 260,000 from the week before. Over 16.5 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the last three weeks, with the true number of those out of work likely even higher. The previous week’s record-breaking surge in unemployment benefit claims was revised higher from 6.648 to 6.867 million.

The minutes of the FOMC’s March 15 emergency meeting were released as scheduled this afternoon, and, rather than reveal any new information to the market, mostly served to illuminate a picture of the Fed’s outlook which we had already sketched out. Readings of the Fed’s discussion notes describe the Fed as cognizant of the dire stresses that America’s efforts to thwart the spread of Covid-19 will put on the business and credit cycle and committed to aggressively supporting the economy through the crisis and into recovery.

Good morning, traders. Welcome to our regular preview of the market week ahead, with a focus on the economic data and market narrative that are most likely to impact gold prices as well as the US Dollar and other correlated assets.

Happy Friday, traders. Welcome back to our weekly market wrap. Following a round-trip of a trading week—but one that lacked the neck-breaking volatility that wreaked havoc through much of March—gold prices are trading slightly lower than the prior week’s close.