Gold Rises After Weak US Retail Sales

Gold prices pushed just above the unchanged level in early U.S. trading Tuesday, following a U.S. retail sales report that did not meet market expectations. Gold prices had been slightly lower in overnight trading. However, gains in the yellow metal are limited due to the better investor/trader risk appetite that has been in the market place the past few days. August Comex gold was last up $1.20 at $1,156.10 an ounce. September Comex silver was last down $0.087 at $15.37 an ounce.

The U.S. retail sales report for June came in at down 0.3%. Expectations were for a 0.2% rise versus a May sales figure of up 1.2%.

An agreement has been reached between Iran and the U.S., regarding Iran’s nuclear program and ending economic sanctions against Iran, reports said Monday. This is one more bearish element for the already beaten-down crude oil market, which is lower today and closing in on the $50.00-a-barrel mark. This news also significantly ratchets down the specter of Iran becoming a geopolitical hotspot in the coming months, or longer—if the deal holds up.

There were downbeat European Union and German economic reports released Tuesday. EU factory output fell in by 0.4% in May from April and was up 1.6%, year-on-year. Meantime, the German ZEW economic expectations index fell to an eight-month low of 29.7 in July from 31.5 in June. The Euro currency is slightly higher on a corrective bounce from Monday’s selling pressure.

Greece and the European Union/International Monetary Fund on Monday agreed on a debt restructuring and financial aid deal. However, the deal, which contains harsh austerity programs for Greece, must be passed by the Greek parliament, which votes on the matter Wednesday.  If the Greek parliament agrees to this week’s deal, then the Greek debt crisis will move to the back burner of the market place, for now.

via Kitco

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza