August 18 financial breakfast: Gold prices hit a five-month low, weighed down by expectations of further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve

On August 18, the dollar index hovered near a two-month high on Thursday, after the minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting left the door open for further interest rate hikes, and this week's data showed that the U.S. economy is resilient; gold prices hit a five-month low, and factors such as rising U.S. Treasury yields, a strong dollar and a hawkish view of interest rates by Federal Reserve officials weighed on investor sentiment.

Beijing time on Friday (August 18), the U.S. dollar index hovered near a two-month high on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve meeting minutes opened the door for further interest rate hikes, and this week's data showed that the U.S. economy is resilient; gold prices hit a five-month low, rising U.S. Treasury yields, a strong dollar and Fed officials' hawkish views on interest rates weighed on investor sentiment.Commodity closing situation:U.S. gold futures closed 0.7% lower at $1,915.20. Brent crude futures rose 0.8% to $84.12 a barrel; U.S. crude rose 1.3% to $80.93 a barrel.

US stock market closing:The S & P 500 fell 0.77% to 4,370.36, the Nasdaq fell 1.07% to 13,330.88 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.84% to 34,474.83.

Friday ForwardPrecious metal

Gold prices hit a five-month low on Thursday as rising U.S. Treasury yields, a strong dollar and Federal Reserve officials' hawkish views on interest rates weighed on investor sentiment.David Meger, head of metals trading at High Ridge Futures, said: "Gold has been falling over the past few sessions due to rising interest rates and Treasury yields, and we do see some low buying at these levels. We note that in response to the minutes of the FOMC meeting yesterday, market movements suggest that the Fed may still need to be more aggressive than previously expected in continuing to raise interest rates."

The minutes of the Federal Reserve's July 25-26 meeting, released on Thursday, showed that most policymakers continued to prioritize fighting inflation, with a small number citing risks to the economy if interest rates rose too high.

Expectations that US interest rates could remain high for longer pushed benchmark 10-year Treasury yields to their highest level since October, making non-yielding gold less attractive to investors. Gold was also hit by the dollar's near two-month high.

Data show that initial jobless claims in the United States fell last week, indicating that the labor market remains tight.

Silver rose 1.1 per cent to $22.64 an ounce, its biggest one-day gain since July 31, while platinum rose 1 per cent to $890.81. Palladium rose 0.4 per cent to $1,213.76.

crude oil

Oil prices rose on Thursday after three straight sessions of declines as the dollar weakened, falling more than 1.5 percent in the previous session on concerns about demand and the possibility of further interest rate hikes in the United States.The dollar index slid from a two-month high a day after the minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting left the door open for more rate hikes, and data this week showed the economy was buoyant. Rising interest rates raise borrowing costs, which could slow growth and reduce oil demand.

Also bullish was a rare drop in China's crude inventories in July, the first reduction in 33 months. Data released on Wednesday showed that US crude inventories fell by nearly 6 million barrels last week on strong exports and refining starts.

foreign exchange

The dollar index hovered near a two-month high on Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting left the door open for further rate hikes and data this week showed the resilience of the U.S. economy.Investors continue to keep a close watch on the yen, which on Friday touched a key level of 145 for the first time in about nine months, entering the zone where Japanese authorities intervened in September and October last year.

The dollar index rose 0.097 per cent to 103.56 after hitting a two-month high of 103.59 as a series of recent US economic data reinforced the view that interest rates will remain high for some time, lending support to the greenback.

Data on Wednesday showed a surge in U.S. single-family home construction and an increase in building permits in July, while another report said U.S. manufacturing output unexpectedly rebounded in July.

Minutes of the Federal Reserve's July policy meeting showed officials were divided last month on whether further rate hikes were needed, citing risks to the economy if rates were pushed too high.

"Looking back at the Fed minutes, there is a case for another rate hike in November, but I don't think the market wants to trade around November just yet, and there will be a lot of data between now and then," said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive.

Elsewhere, the yen rose 0.12 per cent to Y146.14 against the dollar, having fallen to its lowest since November at Y146.56 as the yen came under renewed pressure due to interest rate differentials between Japan and the US in the ultra-low interest rate environment.

Kathy Lien, managing editor of 60 Second Investor, said: "The BoJ is" not willing to intervene right now but I think at some point the dollar/yen is going to be the highest the BoJ can afford, and I think if not now it will definitely be 150. "

The Australian dollar weakened, falling to a nine-month low earlier, and the New Zealand dollar followed suit as data showed an unexpected drop in Australian employment in July, while unemployment rose.

The Australian dollar fell 0.44 per cent to $0.64 in late trading, falling more than 0.9 per cent to a trough of $0.6365 after the jobs data. The New Zealand dollar fell 0.24 per cent to $0.592, hitting its lowest level since November.

Norway's central bank raised interest rates as expected and said it was likely to raise rates again in September, after which the Norwegian krone rallied from six-week lows against the dollar and the euro on Thursday.

The Norwegian krone rose 0.22% to 10.60 against the dollar in late trade, having touched 10.66 at the beginning of the session. The euro fell 0.2% to $1.08565. Sterling was up 0.04% at $1.27275 after surging on Wednesday on the back of British inflation data.

Despite a sharp drop in headline inflation in the UK, the main measure of price increases monitored by the Bank of England did not slow down in July, raising bets that the BoE will maintain higher interest rates for longer.

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