Gold trading reminder: job vacancies exceeded 11 million, and bulls were stuck waiting for the US CPI to break the deadlock

Spot gold held steady around 1784 during the Asian session on Thursday (December 9). Gold prices surged higher and retreated on Wednesday (December 8), essentially flat, with investors waiting to find direction from the Fed meeting and US inflation data. The cooling of concerns about the outbreak has also reduced the charm of safe-haven gold.

Intraday focus on U.S. initial petitions and China's inflation data.

Fundamentals are bullish

[The dollar falls, Omicron worries about easing to boost risk appetite]

The dollar fell against several major currencies on Wednesday, and fears of an economic blow from the Omicron variant eased, helping to prop up riskier currencies.

The dollar index fell 0.38% to 95.95, still close to the 16-month high touched at the end of last month.

Michael Brown, a senior analyst at payments company Caxton, said in a note that concerns about Omicron appear to have eased slightly, especially as the growing number of data suggest that, despite unproven, the symptoms caused by the new variant are less than previously thought.

Investors' appetite for riskier assets improved this week, with reports of only mild symptoms from People infected with Omicron in South Africa.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday that preliminary evidence suggests the new variant may be more contagious but trigger less severe symptoms.

Fundamentals are bearish

[Ukraine says biden and Putin's video call "deters and de-escalates" tensions.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Wednesday that talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin "deterred and de-escalated" tensions.

It was the first time a senior Ukrainian official had responded to a video call between Biden and Putin, and Qureba welcomed U.S. efforts to bring Russia back to the negotiating table.

But he added that it was imperative to develop a deterrent program to stop any further military escalation by Moscow.

"Engagement between Biden and Putin can in itself deter and reduce the effect of the conflict," Mr. Qureba said in a written statement about Tuesday's call, "and we appreciate the key diplomatic engagement of the United States in its efforts to bring Russia back to the negotiating table." ”

Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that the West would impose "strong economic and other measures" on Ukraine if it invaded Ukraine, while Putin demanded assurances that NATO would not expand further eastward.

【The S&P 500 index achieved the biggest three-day increase this year】

U.S. stocks rose for the third straight day, with the S&P 500 posting its biggest three-day gain of the year.

The S&P 500 rose 0.31% and the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.64%.

Pfizer and BioNTech said preliminary experimental studies have shown that their vaccine boosters can neutralize the new coronavirus omicron variant strain. The news eased market concerns about the variant.

"Risk assets are recovering this week after a series of turbulence caused by the new strain," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities. "Early studies have shown that vaccines have a protective effect on new strains. So far, omicron has not led to a significant increase in hospitalizations, and the development of the vaccine is encouraging."

Wall Street analysts expect the market to remain volatile until OMICRON's threat to the economy becomes clearer; if the result is less threatening, the market focus will shift back to the Fed.

"If the omicron concerns continue to subside, attention will turn back to the Fed and the economic growth outlook," Dennis DeBusschere of 22V Research wrote in the report.

[Preliminary test shows that Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can neutralize the mutant strain omicron]

Pfizer and BioNTech SE said preliminary experimental studies suggest that a third dose of their COVID-19 vaccine may be needed to neutralize the new coronavirus variant of omicron, a result that is expected to accelerate the pace of vaccination boosters globally and potentially prompt the use of new vaccines against the variant.

The researchers found that if only two doses of the vaccine were given, the neutralizing antibodies that could prevent omicron were about 25 times lower compared to the original strain. However, the two companies said in their statements that if given a booster needle, the protection can be restored to a level similar to that after receiving two doses of the vaccine.

Pfizer and BioNTech said in their statements that the trial results showed that two doses of the vaccine "may not be enough" to prevent infection with the omicron strain. This, combined with the stimulation of the effect of booster needles, has the potential to raise the likelihood that a vaccine specifically targeted for omicron will eventually be needed.

Pfizer said a vaccine specifically for omicron could be ready by March next year.

Mikael Dolsten, chief scientific officer at Pfizer, said in an interview that in the short term, the strong antibodies triggered by the third shot of Pfizer's existing vaccine, Comirnaty, may provide good protection in the months leading up to early spring, buying time for developing new vaccines and determining the best way to advance. At the same time, unofficial sources still suggest that most patients infected with omicron are relatively mild.

【U.S. Job Vacancies near record high in October】

U.S. job openings jumped to the second highest level on record in October, highlighting the challenges employers face in filling job openings.

The Labor Department's Job Vacancies and Labor Mobility Survey released Wednesday showed job openings rose to 11 million, up from an unexpected 10.6 million in the previous month. The resignation rate dropped to 2.8 percent.

The median estimate for economists surveyed is expected to increase to 10.5 million.

The increase in job openings shows that, despite increased salaries and bonuses, employers remain difficult to fill vacancies. As new strains raise health concerns and affect childcare arrangements, it may take some time for labor supply to keep up with demand levels.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 7.4 million people were unemployed in the United States in October, well below the number of open jobs.

Overall, gold prices continue to be volatile, investors continue to wait for the CPI to come out, and until then volatility is still limited.

This article originated from Huitong Network