Gold Spot

Gold prices dipped on Monday to their lowest in more than two weeks, as bets for an increasingly aggressive and hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve approach to tightening monetary policy boosted the dollar and pressured demand for bullion. With expectations for a half-percentage point interest rate hike at the Fed's May meeting now locked in, traders on Friday piled into bets that the U.S. central bank will go even bigger in subsequent months.

Technical Resistance: 1923/1943

Technical support: 1883/1875

Market headlines:

Economic data:                

• 2022 Malaysia time 08:30 pm - U.S. Core Durable Goods Orders MoM
• 2022 Malaysia time 10:00 pm - U.S. CB Consumer Confidence
• 2022 Malaysia time 10:00 pm - U.S. New Home Sales

Euro falls, European shares set to open lower despite Macron's election win

The euro failed to gain a boost from pro-EU centrist Emmanuel Macron re-election as France's president, and European share futures fell, as investors' fears about global growth outweighed their relief about far-right candidate Marine Le Pen's defeat. The euro, which initially opened higher, fell 0.34% against the dollar to $1.07725, nearing its two year low hit last week, although it rose to a one month high on the pound.

China Lowers Banks’ FX Reserve Ratio to Counter Yuan Weakness

China moved to limit the drop in the yuan by cutting the amount of money that banks need to have in reserve for their foreign currency holdings. The move came after the yuan dropped to the lowest level against the dollar in 17 months in reaction to a small but growing Covid-19 outbreak in Beijing. Financial institutions will need to hold 8% of their foreign exchange in reserve starting May 15, the central bank said in a statement Monday, lower than the current level of 9%. The cut is aimed at “increasing banks’ capabilities of forex fund use” and will help liquidity management, the People’s Bank of China said in the statement. The change would increase the supply of dollars and other currencies onshore and relieve the yuan’s weakness.

Singapore March core inflation rises at fastest pace in a decade

Singapore's key consumer price gauge rose in March by its fastest pace in a decade, outpacing economist forecasts, driven by higher inflation for food and services, official data showed on Monday. The core inflation rate — the central bank's favoured price measure - rose to 2.9% in March on a year-on-year basis, the highest since March 2012. Singapore's central bank tightened its monetary policy earlier this month, making a double barrel move, as the city-state ramped up its battle against soaring prices made worse by the Ukraine war and global supply snags.

Source: Bloomberg, Investing.com, Reuters

黄金现货

金价周一跌至两周多以来的最低点，因押注美联储将采取越来越激进和鹰派的收紧货币政策，提振了美元，并打压了黄金需求。由于对美联储 5 月会议上加息 0.5 个百分点的预期现已锁定，交易员周五纷纷押注美联储将在接下来的几个月里加息。

技术阻力：1923/1943

技术支持 ：1883/1875

主要头条：

• 欧元下降，尽管马克龙的选举获胜，欧洲股票仍将开放较低

• 中国降低银行外汇储备比率以应对人民币疲软

• 新加坡3月核心通胀以十年来最快速度上升

• 美元兑马币交易 4.3540

经济数据：

• 2022年4月25日，马来西亚时间 04:00 pm – 德国IFO商业景气指数 (四月)         
• 2022年4月25日，马来西亚时间 11:00 pm – 加拿大央行行长麦科勒姆(Tiff Macklem)讲话 

欧元下降，尽管马克龙的选举获胜，欧洲股票仍将开放较低

欧元未能因亲欧盟中间派埃马纽埃尔·马克龙 (Emmanuel Macron) 连任法国总统而获得提振，欧洲股指期货下跌，因投资者对全球经济增长的担忧超过了他们对极右翼候选人勒庞落选的宽慰。欧元最初高开，兑美元下跌 0.34% 至 1.07725 美元，接近上周触及的两年低点，但英镑兑美元升至一个月高位。

中国降低银行外汇储备比率以应对人民币疲软

中国采取行动限制人民币贬值，减少银行为持有外币而需要的储备金。此举是在人民币兑美元汇率跌至 17 个月以来的最低水平之后做出的，这是对北京爆发的小规模但不断增长的 Covid-19 疫情的反应。央行周一在一份声明中表示，从 5 月 15 日开始，金融机构将需要持有 8% 的外汇储备，低于目前 9% 的水平。中国人民银行在声明中表示，此次降息旨在“提高银行使用外汇资金的能力”，并将有助于流动性管理。这一变化将增加美元和其他在岸货币的供应，缓解人民币的疲软。

新加坡3月核心通胀以十年来最快速度上升

周一官方数据显示，受食品和服务业通胀上升的推动，新加坡 3 月份的主要消费者价格指数以十年来最快的速度上涨，超过了经济学家的预测。核心通胀率——央行青睐的价格指标——在 3 月同比上升至 2.9%，为 2012 年 3 月以来的最高水平。新加坡央行本月早些时候收紧了货币政策，采取了双桶举措，随着乌克兰战争和全球供应陷入困境，这个城市国家加大了与价格飙升的斗争力度。资料来源: Bloomberg, Investing.com, Reuters