Gold has jumped on the bandwagon, as the US dollar is broadly lower in the Monday session. In North American trading, the spot price for an ounce of gold is $1295.12, up 0.52% on the day. Gold pushed above the $1299 line earlier in the day, its highest level since October 16. On the release front, New Home Sales surged to 687 thousand, well above the estimate of 627 thousand. On Tuesday, the US releases CB Consumer Confidence, with an estimate of 123.9 points. As well, Federal Reserve Chair Designate Jerome Powell will testify before a Congressional committee.
Federal Reserve policymakers remain upbeat about the U.S economy, according to the minutes of the most recent policy meeting. The minutes indicated that policymakers expected the U.S economy to continue showing strong growth, and predicted that interest rates will be raised in the "near term". The members discussed the vexing question of why inflation has been persistently low (no quick-fix solution was provided), with most agreeing that a tight labor market should lead to higher inflation levels. Although policymakers did not provide further hints about the timetable of a rate hike, the markets remain convinced that additional rates are imminent. The odds of a rate hike in December are 93%, and the odds of a January raise are at 91%.
All eyes will be on Jerome Powell, who testifies before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday for his confirmation hearing. Will Powell be a clone of outgoing chair Janet Yellen? Powell inherits an economy that is in excellent shape, but persistently low inflation remains a nagging problem. Fed policymakers have differing views on what to do about inflation, with some members proposing that the Fed drop its 2 percent target, in favor of a "gradually rising path" for prices. The Fed remains confounded by low inflation and wage growth, despite a labor market that is at full capacity. Still, the Fed will likely pull the rate trigger next month, and could raise rates up to 3 more times in 2018 if the economy continues to expand at its current pace.
