Happiness Investment Network News, March 25 - In Asian markets on Thursday (March 25), the U.S. dollar index fell slightly and is now at around 92.50; spot gold rose rapidly in the short-term, and the price of gold is currently approaching the $1,740 per ounce mark. Analysts pointed out that the current weaker U.S. dollar is supporting gold prices. In addition, geopolitical tensions have also made gold prices supported by a certain degree of safe-haven buying. On the news, the United States and the European Union agreed to restart bilateral dialogue on China, and North Korea launched a missile for the second time in four days. On Thursday, local time, Biden will hold his first press conference after taking office as President of the United States at the White House. This event has attracted great attention from the market.
Driven by the fall in US Treasury yields, gold rose on Wednesday. Spot gold closed at $1,734.69 per ounce, up $7.77 or 0.45%. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell back to 1.608% on Wednesday.
In the Asian market on Thursday, spot gold rose sharply in the short-term, reaching a maximum of 1,739.27 US dollars per ounce, and the Asian market gold price once fell to 1,731.75 US dollars per ounce in early trading.
Jeff Wright, chief investment officer of Wolfpack Capital, said that there is some short covering in gold, but nothing is particularly serious yet. The weak yields on government bonds also provide further support for gold.
The well-known financial website Marketwatch reported that Germany is expected to extend the blockade to mid-April, which makes investors feel uneasy and worry that the economic rebound will be dragged down again.
Oanda market analyst Sophie Griffiths pointed out that with the increase in the number of new crown cases in Europe, global financial markets are disturbed, and gold has risen due to the influx of safe-haven buying.
Fed Chairman Powell said in his testimony to Congress this week that he expects some inflation, but the magnitude “will not be particularly large and will not last long.”
Bart Melek, Head of Commodity Strategy at TD Securities, said: "The Federal Reserve stated that although we may see some higher inflation, they will ignore this fact, so this ultimately means that we may see a spike in inflation and the Fed will Continue to wait and see...These factors are helping gold." Melek added that although the price of gold may rise to $1,900 again, the strength of the dollar is still a resistance to the price of gold.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen told lawmakers on Wednesday that tax increases will be needed in the future to pay for infrastructure projects and other public investments.
HSBC (HSBC) chief precious metals analyst James Steel wrote in a report: "Whether it is for companies or individuals, the possibility of raising taxes will often increase the demand for gold as a safe-haven asset."
The well-known financial website Economies.com wrote that gold prices rose moderately on Wednesday and stayed away from the key support of $1,27.00 per ounce, which makes the bullish trend scenario still valid. Judging from the 4-hour chart, the stochastic indicator sends a positive signal. Currently, it is waiting for the price of gold to break through $1,740.00 per ounce, confirming that the price of gold has rebounded to the next major target of $1765.00 per ounce.
Economies.com added that maintaining the price of gold above $1,27.00 per ounce is very important for the continued bullish trend. It is expected that US$1720.00/ounce and US$1760.00/ounce will constitute short-term support and resistance to gold prices, respectively.
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: "The main reason why gold prices rebounded from lows is that we saw a little weakness in U.S. Treasury yields. If yields continue to weaken, gold prices may continue to rise slightly and return to $1,760. s level."
But Hewson added that if the U.S. dollar strengthens, it will drag the price of gold further.
The U.S. and the EU agree to restart bilateral dialogue on China
According to Reuters, on March 24 local time, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with the EU’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy and Vice President Josep Borrell of the European Commission, and the two sides issued a joint statement after the meeting. , Agreed to restart the bilateral dialogue between the United States and the European Union on China, and work together to deal with Russia’s "challenging behavior."
The statement stated that the United States and the European Union recognize that the relationship with China is multifaceted, including cooperation, competition, and "systematic adversaries." The two sides decided to continue to hold high-level officials and expert-level meetings under the framework of the dialog to discuss various topics including economic issues.
The statement said, "On March 24, Brinken and Borelli met in Brussels to discuss how to strengthen the relationship between the United States and the European Union, and to coordinate responses to priority foreign policy, security and economic issues. They also pledged to face global challenges. Cooperation includes responding to the global climate crisis, ending the new crown virus pandemic, promoting sustainable economic recovery, and defending democratic values and fundamental freedoms, including in multilateral institutions."
The statement shows that during the meeting, the two sides decided to restart the bilateral dialogue with China as a forum for a comprehensive discussion of related challenges and opportunities. They acknowledged that both parties recognize that the relationship with China is multifaceted, including factors such as cooperation, competition, and systemic rivals. They also decided to continue to hold high-level officials and expert-level meetings under the framework of the dialogue to discuss issues including economic issues, such as equivalence, resilience, human rights, security, multilateralism, climate change, and areas for constructive contact with China. .
Brinken and Borelli said that they will respond to "challenging Russian behavior," including "Russian aggression against Ukraine and Georgia, election interference, malicious cyber activities" and so on.
In October 2020, the then-U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo and Borelli met by telephone, during which a new bilateral dialogue between the United States and the European Union concerning China was launched. But after the Biden administration came to power, this dialogue lost momentum.
Earlier on Wednesday, Brinken delivered a speech after meeting with the foreign ministers of NATO allies, strongly condemning China's extensive use of coercive measures, and urged NATO allies to cooperate with the United States to strengthen their resistance to China. Brinken also emphasized that China's actions pose security and economic threats to the United States and its allies.
He pointed out: “There is no doubt that Beijing’s coercive behavior threatens our common security and prosperity. It is actively working to undermine the rules of the international system and the values we share with our allies.”
Brinken also said that the United States and its allies still have room for cooperation with China in addressing common challenges such as climate change and health and security, but he also called on NATO to stand together when Beijing coerced an allied country.
He said: “We know that our allies have a complicated relationship with China and are not always exactly the same as us. But we need to tackle these challenges together. This means working with our allies to shrink the areas of technology and infrastructure. Beijing is using these areas to exert coercive pressure."
North Korea launches missile for the second time in 4 days
The South Korean military stated on March 25 that North Korea launched UFOs into the eastern waters of the Korean Peninsula. According to a report from the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK), the Japanese government said that North Korea launched two objects that may be ballistic missiles on the morning of the 25th, presumably not flying over Japan’s territory, nor falling into Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga pointed out that North Korea had launched two missiles that landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone and promised to thoroughly discuss North Korea’s nuclear weapons during a face-to-face visit with the US President in April. US officials also confirmed that North Korea is conducting a new missile launch test, but did not provide detailed information on the number or types of projectiles detected.
Yoshihide Suga said on the 25th: "North Korea has just launched two ballistic missiles. This is the first time since March 29 last year that it has launched ballistic missiles. It poses a threat to the peace and security of our country and the region. This is a violation of UN resolutions. Expressed strong protest and condemnation." He also said that Japan will work closely with relevant countries including the United States and South Korea to protect the safety of its citizens.
Facing the North Korean missile test, the Japanese Coast Guard issued a warning, asking ships not to approach any falling objects, and to provide information to the Coast Guard as soon as possible after encountering them. But so far, Japan has not reported any debris falling into its territorial waters. According to the United Nations resolution, Pyongyang is prohibited from conducting ballistic missile tests, but it has not banned the testing of cruise missiles.
According to Yonhap News Agency’s report on Wednesday, many South Korean government sources said on Wednesday that they learned that North Korea had launched two cruise missiles into the western waters of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday, both of which were short-range missiles. This is North Korea's first missile test in about a year and the first since U.S. President Biden took office. On April 14 last year, North Korea launched multiple short-range cruise missiles from Muncheon City, Gangwon Province to the eastern waters of the peninsula.
According to Reuters, US President Joe Biden (Joe Biden) said in response to North Korea's two short-range missile test launches on March 23, local time, that this move shows that there is no change in North Korea. Biden told reporters in response to a question about the missile test: "We have learned that the situation has not changed much."
Not long before the test launch, US Secretary of Defense Austin and Secretary of State Brinken visited South Korea and reached an agreement with South Korean Defense Minister Xu Xu and Foreign Minister Jung Yi-yong, making the resolution of North Korea’s nuclear and missile issues the highest priority. matter. Sullivan, the assistant to the US president for national security affairs, is scheduled to hold talks with South Korean and Japanese officials next week to discuss North Korea.
Prior to this, South Korea and the United States held a nine-day joint military exercise, which lasted until last Thursday. Although Seoul and Washington stated that the exercises were defensive in nature and were small-scale exercises conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and peace efforts with North Korea, Pyongyang strongly protested and threatened to abolish the military agreement between North Korea and South Korea.
Currently, North Korea is conducting winter exercises. It is believed that the exercise started in December last year and usually lasts until the end of March.
The denuclearization negotiations between North Korea and the United States have reached a deadlock. Since 2019, North Korea has been committed to the development of a variety of conventional weapons, including short-range ballistic missiles, and has repeatedly tested them.
Biden's first press conference has attracted much attention since he took office
The first press conference after U.S. President Biden took office is scheduled to be held on the afternoon of March 25, local time. It is expected that Biden will face hot spots at the press conference about the new crown epidemic, gun control, anti-Asian discrimination, and the surge in border immigration. problem.
According to Fox News, US President Biden will hold his first press conference as president in the East Room of the White House at 1:15 pm Eastern Time on Thursday (1:15 am Hong Kong time on Friday).
Since Biden took office as President of the United States, the United States has encountered many large-scale incidents in foreign affairs and internal affairs. This has also brought special attention to Biden's upcoming press conference.
Biden's first press conference was held more than two months after the establishment of the new government. He broke the record of the latest personal press conference held by previous presidents. Trump held a press conference 27 days after taking office, Obama only waited 20 days to hold a press conference, and Bush Jr. took office 33 days after he took office to answer reporters’ questions on a formal occasion.
The editorial office of the "Washington Post" published an editorial on March 7 stating: "Avoiding press conferences should not be a regular habit for Biden. He is the president, and Americans have every right to expect him to receive substantive inquiries on a regular basis." However, the White House defended Biden, noting that he answered brief questions informally. White House Press Secretary Psaki told reporters: "The president takes questions several times a week. This is an opportunity for White House reporters to ask him questions about news that occurs on any given day."
After the recent mass shooting in Atlanta, Georgia, which killed 8 people, including 6 Asians, the United States has set off demonstrations to stop hating Asians. The Biden administration is facing the thorny issue of hating Asians. The recent mass shooting in Colorado, which killed 10 people, once again focused the nation on the issue of gun violence.
The White House has stated that in addition to legislative channels, Biden will also take administrative measures to control guns.
In addition, the surge in illegal immigration at the southern border of the United States, infrastructure projects, and vaccine issues may also become the focus of the press conference.
"Fox News" reported that it took more than two months for the Biden administration to hold a press conference after taking office, and the longer delay was a concern. The report pointed out that Biden's press conference may face issues related to immigration and shootings.
White House spokesman Psaki said in response to questions about the press conference on March 23 that President Biden is preparing for this, "This is a way for him to speak to the American people through news reports and through you (reporters). Opportunity".
On January 20 this year, Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States in Washington, DC.
