USAGOLD/Peter Grant/06-20-17
Gold is modestly higher to start the U.S. session. The yellow metal is better today, despite a higher dollar and another rise in stocks. These are factors that weighed on gold yesterday.
With political and geopolitical risks elevated, we may be seeing an uptick in demand for safe-havens. Firmer bonds offer some confirmation.
The U.S. Q1 current account gap widened to -$116.8 bln, inside expectations of -$123.6 bln, versus -$114.0 bln in Q4-16. That’s it for today’s economic calendar.
Boston Fed hawk Rosengren speaking at the Riksbank in Sweden warned that low rates put economies at risk and make fighting future recessions more difficult. This is reflective of my own explanation as to why the Fed is tightening policy into economic weakness. They are preparing for the next recession, that we all know is coming.
We’ll also hear Fedspeak from Fischer, Evans, Kaplan and Powell. I suspect the general theme will center on an effort to bolster confidence in at least one more rate hike this year.
This tweet from yesterday caught my eye. This too is consistent with my own views of FedSpeak. Don’t believe a word they say. The truth is in the data . . .
In my macro strategist days my mantra was "everything the Fed says is meant to steer consensus opinion, not to inform or reveal truth." — Bruce Lawrence (@bblawrence8) June 19, 2017
In my macro strategist days my mantra was "everything the Fed says is meant to steer consensus opinion, not to inform or reveal truth."
— Bruce Lawrence (@bblawrence8) June 19, 2017
