On Thursday, the price of gold increased. It reached around $2,010 per ounce. This increase happened because the value of the dollar and Treasury yields went down a little. But, even with this rise, the price of gold is still close to the lowest it has been in five weeks. The main reason for this situation is the recent data on US retail sales. This data was stronger than expected. Because of it, people now think it’s less likely that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates soon.
This week, some important people from the Federal Reserve talked about their plans. One of them is Fed Governor Christopher Waller. They said they do not plan to make quick or big changes to their financial policies.
Looking at what people expect in the financial markets, there is a change. They now see a 53.8% chance that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in March. This is less likely than before. Before, they thought there was a 63.1% chance. This information is based on what CME’s FedWatch Tool shows.
In Europe, Christine Lagarde, who leads the European Central Bank, gave an interview to Bloomberg. She mentioned that most people would probably support lowering interest rates in the summer. But, she made it clear that any decisions they make in the future will depend on new economic data they receive.
Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, investors are watching the Middle East closely. They are interested in the latest news. The news is about the United States attacking Houthi targets in Yemen. Investors are trying to understand how these actions might impact the financial markets.