Gold nurses tumble from record high as Fed meeting approaches
Gold prices were set for weekly losses after falling sharply from record highs hit on Monday.
Pressure on the yellow metal came chiefly from growing angst over a Fed meeting next week, especially as inflation signals read stronger than expected for a third straight month.
Sticky inflation saw traders grow fearful of any hawkish signals from the Fed, especially as the central bank signaled that its plans for interest rate cuts in 2024 will be largely dictated by the path of inflation. Higher-for-longer rates bode poorly for gold and other non-yielding assets.
Still, ANZ analysts said in a recent note that while gold may see some weakness in the near-term, the yellow metal still had a slew of factors working in its favor for the rest of the year. They also hiked their 2024 target price for gold to $2,300 an ounce from $2,200 an ounce.
Most Asian stocks fell sharply on Friday as hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation readings spurred more concerns over higher-for-longer interest rates, with a barrage of upcoming central bank meetings coming squarely into focus.
Regional markets took a weak lead-in from Wall Street as PPI inflation rose more than expected in February. The reading, which came on the heels of a strong consumer inflation print earlier this week, saw traders reduce their expectations for a rate cut in June.
Wall Street futures fell slightly in Asian trade, as markets grew fearful of any more hawkish signals from a Fed Meeting next week.
Apple has acquired Canadian artificial intelligence startup DarwinAI, adding technology to its arsenal ahead of a big push into generative AI in 2024, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports. The iPhone maker purchased the business earlier this year, and dozens of DarwinAI’s employees have joined Apple’s artificial intelligence division, according to people with knowledge of the matter. DarwinAI has developed AI technology for visually inspecting components during the manufacturing process and serves customers in a range of industries. But one of its core technologies is making artificial intelligence systems smaller and faster, the author notes.
Walmart announced a pilot project with unspun, which it calls “a pioneering fashion tech company using the world’s first 3D weaving technology.” The collaboration, if successful, could help reduce the environmental impact of garment production, offer a more sustainable process for meeting apparel demand and support the companies’ shared commitment to shift more textile manufacturing back to the U.S. the company stated. “Out of its micro factory in Oakland, California, unspun’s first-of-its-kind technology promises to more quickly and efficiently transform yarn into garments,” Walmart added.
Microsoft (MSFT) and Oracle (ORCL) are expanding our collaboration to meet growing customer demand for Oracle Database@Azure around the world. Oracle Database@Azure will expand to five more regions, which brings the total planned multicloud availability footprint to 15 regions globally. Customers can now place orders for Oracle Database@Azure in the Microsoft Azure Germany West Central region in Frankfurt. This marks the debut of Oracle Database@Azure in Europe, and the second region after Microsoft Azure East U.S. general availability in December 2023. To meet the growing customer demand this year, the service will further run in the Australia East, Brazil South, Canada Central, France Central, Central India, Italy North, Japan East, Southeast Asia, Sweden Central, United Kingdom South, Central United States, South Central United States, and United Arab Emirates North cloud regions.
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