News Bites
Gold heads to an important level leading into the EU session
(Kitco News) - Gold (0.56%) has had another bullish session overnight but is heading to the old consolidation low at $1848.84 per ounce which could be a resistance zone. Silver is also trading higher but not as much as the precious metal trades at $24.14, 0.24% in the black heading into the EU session.
The major bourses in the Asia-Pac area were pretty mixed overnight. The Nikkei 225 (0.03%) and ASX (0.38%) traded higher while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.21%. There was a report that the US reportedly issued travel curbs for Chinese Communist Party members. This could have hit the risk sentiment in China but the weak ADP number during the US session was weighing on sentiment too.
The Caixin services Purchasing Managers' Index for November came in at 57.8, beating expectations and showing the Chinese economy is well on the way to recovery. This is also the 2nd highest reading in a 10 year period.
There was some strength in base metals names overnight including the like of Vale and Rio Tinto. This morning only zinc (0.34%) and tin (0.12%) are in the black leading into the open but the rest of the major base metals like copper are lingering at elevated levels.
The BBC reported that a Brexit deal could be reached by the end of the week. This has not really been heard in many places but GBP seems to react positively to the news and trades 0.22% higher.
On the coronavirus front, Los Angeles is the latest US state to confirm a lockdown. We have been used to more positive news from the vaccine announcements but the pandemic is still hitting some economies.
Looking ahead to the rest of the session highlights include services and composite PMI from the major EU nations the US, EU retail sales, US initial jobless claims. The main thing to keep an eye on could be the Brexit negotiations as it seems we could be close to a deal.