Consumption Power Weakened in the Eurozone due to the Pandemic / Gold Prices are Under Pressure Again
In the euro zone, retail sales rose 3% month-on-month in February, which was higher than market expectations for a 1.7% increase, and the previous value fell 5.2%. At an annual rate, retail sales still fell by 2.9%, but the decline was narrower than the market’s expected decline of 5.4%. The data reflects that although the pandemic situation in the region has not yet been controlled, and individual cities have tightened lockdown measures, the impact on consumption in the region seems to have gradually faded.
Gold prices are being pressured by the stabilization of U.S. bond yields and are currently struggling to move forward at around $1,730. Fed Chairman Powell released a high-profile dovish signal at the beginning of this week, reiterating that the Fed will continue to support the US economy, which will put pressure on gold prices. In addition, after the U.S. Treasury yield rebounded to above 1.66%, the market is continuing to wait for the release of key U.S. data this week, especially the consumer price index and retail data. There is a strong wait-and-see atmosphere in the market, and these data will become the key driving factors to the gold market outlook. As of 08:33 Hong Kong time, gold fell 0.11% to 1,730.80 US dollars.
