I continued European stocks It moved higher on Tuesday as investors await data on consumer prices Germanythe largest economy in the region to obtain indicators regarding inflation in the region EUR.
The Stoxx 600 index of European stocks rose 0.5%, supported by financials and non-core consumer stocks.
Investors will focus their attention on today’s German CPI data, which could provide further indications on whether cost pressures in the Eurozone may ease after the European Central Bank’s sharp monetary tightening.
And European stocks closed the first few sessions of this year, up 1.6 percent on Monday, after data from the eurozone manufacturing sector showed that the worst phase was over, with the start of the recovery of the supply chain and the retreat of inflationary pressures.
The UK ‘Financial Times 100’ index rose 1.1% in its first trading session in 2023 as the UK market was closed from a short session on Friday.
Gold jumps to the highest level
Gold prices hit a six-month high on Tuesday in light trading, with market attention shifting to the minutes of the latest US Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting scheduled for this week.
And gold was up in spot contracts 0.8% to $1838.69 an ounce, and US gold futures contracts were up 1% to $1843.90.
Read more
This section contains related articles, inserted in the (Related Nodes field)
The dollar index fell 0.1%, making US-denominated gold more attractive to overseas buyers.
The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s December monetary policy meeting are expected to be released on Wednesday, which could provide insight into the bank’s tightening path.
Gold is considered a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainties, but high interest rates increase the opportunity cost of owning gold because it does not generate interest.
Spot silver was up 1.1% to $24.25, platinum was up 0.8% to $1,077.98, while palladium fell 0.1% to $1,792.21.
Strong rise in the yen
The yen jumped to a seven-month high against the dollar on growing expectations that the Bank of Japan will reverse its extremely loose monetary policy.
Speculations have started that Japan’s central bank would change its policy after the bank raised the upper limit of the range of movement in 10-year government bond yields last month. Prices are close to its target by two percent in the 2023 and 2024 budgets.
The yen was up 0.69% against the dollar on Tuesday, at 129.83 yen to the dollar, after hitting 129.51 at the start of the session, a level not reached since June.
The Asian currency lost 12% of its value against the dollar in 2022 and Japanese authorities intervened in the market in September to support it for the first time since 1998 and then again in October, when it fell to a 32-year low in 151.94. yen per dollar.
The yen posted broad gains on Tuesday, with the euro shedding 0.57% to 138.52 yen and the British pound dropping 0.44% to 156.76 yen.
The dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against six major currencies, had a modest start to 2023 and was trading in recent trades, down 0.029% to 103.610, and the index rose by 8% in 2022, recording the highest annual rate jump since 2015 thanks to the Federal Reserve (central bank) hike US interest rates to curb inflation.
The Australian dollar fell 0.06% to $0.680, while the New Zealand dollar rose 0.19% to $0.633. The euro was unchanged against the dollar, while the British pound rose 0.18% to $1.2067.
