Market News

Gold broke the $1300 barrier this afternoon for the first time in 15 months. After soaring overnight to trade at $1298, the commodity proved its shine by unexpectedly moving past the $1300 key level.

Though the Dollar has recovered to some extent, earlier in today’s trading session, the Japanese Yen struck a new 18-month peak, adding to last week’s gain.

Commodities are having their first recovery since 2010 as global gluts that have plagued markets for over two years finally start to recede. The gains come after five straight years of annual losses when slowing Chinese demand and rising output produced a global oversupply for most commodities.

This week can be expected to be less significant than the previous week, with Central Bank inputs due concerning only the Australian Dollar. There is also some very key U.S. economic data due in the form of Non-Farm Payrolls, and there is a lot of additional Australian economic data due throughout the week.

Most U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday, while April figures showed the Dow and S&P posting gains. At the same time, the dollar began a steep descent against the yen, heading for the largest decline since 2008.

The Japanese Yen gained nearly 3% versus the US Dollar and the common currency Euro after Japan’s central bank surprised investors by standing pat on policy.

The Federal Reserve left short-term interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, marking the third straight meeting the U.S. central bank has held rates steady in 2016.

The Pound Sterling traded close to a 12-week peak versus the US Dollar on growing expectations that Britons would choose to stay in the E.U.

The Federal Reserve convenes this morning for a two-day meeting but the die has already been cast by most markets. No rate hike is expected at this time and the decision has already been factored in.

Despite efforts and rhetoric from the Bank of Japan as well as investors’ concerns over another possible intervention, the Japanese Yen continued to rise broadly.

Forward contracts on the yuan were up for the first time in five days after the central bank boosted its reference rate in anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s commentary later this week.

After taking a pounding last week against the US Dollar, the Japanese Yen regained some of its positive momentum though investors are certain to refocus their attention on the upcoming Bank of Japan policy meeting.

Will they or won’t they? That’s the question voiced in all markets regarding a Fed rate hike this week. U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers meet on April 26-27 and most expect that interest rates will be kept steady; others see a slim possibility of a surprise hike.

This week can be expected to be more significant than the previous week, with Central Bank inputs due concerning the U.S. Dollar, the Japanese Yen, and the New Zealand Dollar.

In a candid public statement last Friday, U.S. president Barack Obama urged Britain to vote in favor of retaining its membership in the European Union rather than abandoning ship