Gold is flat on Wednesday, as the spot price stands at $1307.44 per ounce late the European session. There is just one event on today's schedule, Crude Oil Inventories. Investors are waiting for new economic data, and on Thursday we'll get a look at Unemployment Claims and New Home Sales. On Tuesday, US data was a mix. CPI posted a weak gain as the key inflation index continues to struggle. Meanwhile, there was excellent news on the housing front, as Existing Home Sales exceeded expectations and hit its highest level in eight months.
US numbers were a mix on Tuesday. Inflation numbers continue to struggle, as Core CPI posted a paltry gain of 0.1%, shy of the estimate of 0.2%. The key index has looked anemic in 2014, with its highest gain this year at just 0.3%. CPI was bit stronger, as it gained 0.3% last month, matching the forecast. Meanwhile, Existing Home Sales jumped to 5.04 million, surpassing the estimate of 4.94 million. This was the best showing we've seen since October, and follows a disappointing release from Housing Starts, which was published last week.
Geopolitical tensions are bad news for the markets, which crave stability. With violence continuing in Ukraine and Gaza, nervous investors have rallied around the safe-haven US dollar as well as gold, at the expense of other currencies. In Ukraine, the downing of a Malaysian Airlines jet, apparently by pro-Russian separatists, has seriously frayed relations between the West and Russia, which have already been strained since the latter annexed Crimea. Fighting continues between the separatists and Ukrainian forces in Eastern Ukraine. The Europeans are threatening stronger sanctions against Russia, and escalating tensions in eastern Ukraine could shake up the markets. In the Middle East, the fighting in Gaza between Hamas and Israel has intensified, as Israel presses on with a land offensive and casualties rise on both sides. Meanwhile, the international community is intensifying efforts to broker a cease-fire, but in the meantime the fighting continues.
XAU/USD 1307.44 H: 1309.42 L: 1305.05
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