Precious metals soar as dollar loses steam on Friday

Both gold and silver were more than 1% higher on Friday as they were quickly erasing this week’s losses, supported today by the halt in the US dollar strengthening. 

The EURUSD pair was up slightly during the London session, trading above the 1.19 level, while the USDJPY pair has already erased all of its post-FOMC gains, undermined by the plummeting yields. 

The 10-year yield rose sharply after the FOMC decision, from 1.5% to 1.6%, only to drop back below 1.5% on Thursday. It looks like traders are reassuring themselves that inflation is indeed transitory and the Fed has it under control.

The general consensus now believes that tapering is likely to be mentioned at the Jackson Hole Symposium in late August, formally announced in September. An actual tapering of purchases starts in Q4.

The Nasdaq 100 index rose to new all-time highs yesterdays (supported by the falling yields), while the SP500 index ended flattish and the Dow index was down for nine consecutive days.

There are absolutely no data on the agenda today, leaving the markets without any fundamental backdrop today. However, the quarterly options expiration day is today, possibly resulting in large volatility during the US session.

Source: https://www.axiory.com/market-news/precious-metals-soar-as-dollar-loses-steam-on-friday