Gold

Strong statements coming from both sides suggesting massive levels of destruction continue in the war of words, escalating the current tensions between the United States and North Korea. Whether penned by the President of the United States or the dictator (and his cronies) of North Korea, it seems each statement made by one leads to a harsher and more foreboding message from the other side.

Charles Dickens expressed it well in his novel, A Tale of Two Cities. He describes a period of time that contained both positive and negative experiences. The dichotomy of the human condition in which there is good and evil, prosperity and poverty.

Although it is not a common occurrence, there are many historical instances where nations with opposing ideologies began a war of words and then went on to rattle their swords. What is unusual in this case is that it is the President of the United States rattling his sword.

“Fire, Fury and Power” was President Trumps rebuttal to recent threats by North Korea in which they threatened to launch a nuclear attack on the United States. It seems we have now entered a very dangerous war of words.

Market participants and analysts have had the weekend to digest Friday’s job report and gauge what effect this data will have on the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve. Today we gained more insight as St. Louis Federal Reserve’s President James Bullard spoke in Nashville to the America’s Cotton Marketing Cooperative Conference.

Today’s jobs report released by the Labor Department indicated that U.S. employers added 209,000 jobs in July, well above analysts’ estimates. Add to that a 16 year low in the unemployment rate (4.3%), and you have the necessary components to bid up the U.S. dollar, which has been under dramatic pressure throughout this year, resulting in a 15-month low.

The most recent rally in gold has paused as traders pull profits and seem reluctant to initiate large stakes ahead of tomorrow’s jobs report. As of 4 o’clock EDT, gold futures are trading off by about $3.60, currently fixed at $1271.50. At the same time, spot gold is trading fractionally higher, trading up approximately $2.30 at $1268.50.

Like pulling the petals off a daisy, market participants and analysts have been oscillating back-and-forth, almost day by day, as to whether Janet Yellen, at the helm of the Federal Reserve, will initiate a last interest rate hike in 2017.

What would the Fed say? Well according to the CME’s FedWatch tool, the odds of another quarter-point U.S. rate increase have decreased to around 47%, a drop of 3% when compared with the odds of a month ago. Tepid economic data released today has further eroded the probability of another rate hike being initiated by the Federal Reserve this year.

Whether you focus upon geopolitical hotspots such as North Korea or Venezuela or you focus your attention on today’s firing of the new White House communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, one thing is for certain. There’s never a dull moment at the White House with this new administration.