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USAGOLD/Peter A. Grant/02-17-17
Gold is narrowly confined ahead of the long holiday weekend, just below the highs for the year that were set last week at 1244.71. Safe haven interest is still seen as being supportive to the yellow metal, while speculation about a possible rate hike in March may be limiting the upside.
Political uncertainty both in the U.S. and Europe continues to bolster haven interest. There has definitely been a lot more positive press coverage in recent weeks, centered both on the aforementioned political risks and rising concerns about inflation.
Both PPI and CPI for January doubled expectations, suggesting that the Fed’s massive efforts to stoke inflation may finally be baring fruit. It only took about a decade . . .
So, now what’s the Fed’s next move? Do they allow the “overshoot” that has been discussed in more recent years, or do they initiate additional tightening measures at the risk of choking-off the nascent growth prospects?
With growth “quite disappointing” even by Fed Chair Yellen’s estimation, I think they’ll hold in March and hope to see a pickup in GDP by midyear. If June and September start looking questionable, I think the central bank’s already dubious credibility could take another hit.
Additionally, President Trump will likely be moving to fill three vacancies on the Board of Governor within the next several months. I have speculated that given his agenda of tax cuts and debt fueled infrastructure spending, he might be looking to pack the Fed with doves. His recent statements about the dollar being too strong (or other currencies being too weak), plays into this as well.
Nothing would pull the plug faster on the 6-year dollar rally than a policy about-face by the Fed. Or even the message that we won’t tighten any further until the global economy gains momentum and other central banks start removing accommodations.
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