Weekly Commodity Podcast By Ravindra Rao | 21st Aug 2023

Highlights of this week's Commodity Podcast: 1. Market sentiment has taken a cautious turn, driven by a more guarded Federal Reserve and notable economic slowdown in China 2. The minutes from the Fed's July meeting revealed concerns about inflation and the potential need for further policy tightening 3. Additionally, Fitch Ratings has issued warnings of possible downgrades for major US banks and is revaluating China's sovereign credit rating, which has remained at A+ since 2007 4. These factors have contributed to the continuous ascent of US Treasury yields and the dollar index, both of which have seen five consecutive weeks of gains 5. The robust US dollar, coupled with soaring US 10-year Treasury yields, has pushed COMEX Gold to its lowest point since early June 6. In terms of price action, COMEX Gold is currently trading near the 200-day moving average (DMA) support at around $1908 per ounce. If this 200 DMA support holds, there might be potential for short-covering in the market 7. Crude oil's seven-week winning streak came to an end, and base metals extended losses for the second consecutive week 8. The People's Bank of China lowered its 1-year loan prime rate (LPR) by 10 basis points to a record low of 3.45%. Consequently, NYMEX oil rose above $81 per barrel early today, marking its 3rd consecutive session of gains 9. Looking ahead to the upcoming week, all eyes will be on flash manufacturing PMI figures from Western economies and the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium