Gold and silver struggle heading into the European open

August 16, 2021

London (Aug 16)  Gold is starting the new trading week on the back foot as the yellow metal has dropped -0.36% during the Asia Pac session. Silver is also weaker and trades near $23.50/oz down around -0.67%. Elsewhere in the rest of the commodities complex, copper is half a percent lower while spot WTI is -0.87% in the red.

The Nikkei 225 (-1.61%) was one of the softest indices but the ASX (-0.61%) and Shanghai Composite (-0.03%) also underperformed overnight. Heading into the European open index futures are pointing towards a negative cash open.

In FX markets, AUD/USD was the biggest loser falling just over 0.40%. The rest of the commodities currencies also suffered with CAD and NZD dropping against the greenback. In the crypto space, BTC/USD has now reached $47,350 as it continues to edge towards the $50k psychological number.

In terms of news from the weekend, the main theme continues to be the conflict in Afganistan. The Taliban continue to gain a stronghold over some major cities (including Kabul) as the foreign troops exit the nation after their prolonged stay. All eyes are on the U.S. administration to see how much help they could be willing to provide.

It has been reported that ECB's Lagarde and BOE's Bailey are to miss out on Jackson Hole this year.

Japan June final industrial production +6.5% vs +6.2% m/m preliminary.

China July industrial production +6.4% y/y vs +7.8% expected.

Japan Q2 prelim GDP +0.3% q/q vs +0.2% expected.

China July house prices +4.6% y/y vs +4.7% prior.

Fed's Kashkari wants to see "a few more" solid employment reports before tapering. Kashkari has been cautious for a long time and this comment comes as no real surprise.

Looking ahead to the rest of the session highlights include the German Buba monthly report, NY Empire State manufacturing index, Canadian manufacturing sales and U.S. TIC data.

KitcoNews

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