The price of gold and silver fell again on Monday (albeit at a slightly more polite pace), resuming a slide that began last week on the back of policy news from the United States.
Precious metals have lost close to 10% since Friday morning, while the US dollar enjoyed its strongest day in more than six months to end last week. The dollar stabilised further yesterday with positive factory data providing another pressure valve. Sterling and the euro struggled to mount much of a defence ahead of interest rate decisions from their respective central banks on Thursday.
The other main influence on the US dollar this week is likely to be Friday’s non-farm payrolls report. But before that, the ISM manufacturing purchasing manager’s index (PMI) came in well above forecasts at 52.6 in January – the survey’s highest score since August 2022.
There was also positive news for the UK’s manufacturing businesses. S&P Global revised up its preliminary PMI score to a seventeen-month best.
Meanwhile, house prices ticked up last month in Nationwide’s British property survey. The 1% pace of annual growth is still notably below the recent average.
Australia’s central bank voted to hike interest rates by a quarter point, taking the terminal rate from 3.6% to 3.85%. The Australian dollar enjoyed a positive Monday, strengthening against the pound and finished broadly level against a resurgent US dollar as markets anticipated tighter monetary policy.
Finally, UK civil servants working at the Treasury are being offered £100,000 to leave their posts as part of a drive to reduce headcount by 300. The Chancellor is looking to cut more than 10% of her staff by 2030 in an effort to reduce costs at the heart of government.
Make sure any upcoming transactions are protected against the risks of sudden market movements. Secure a fixed exchange rate now with a forward contract or call your account manager on 020 7898 0541 to get started.
