U.S. Treasury Secretary abandons G20 attendance, markets await more central bank news

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has decided not to attend some of the Group of Twenty (G20) meetings this week, U.S. Treasury officials confirmed. Yellen has previously said that U.S. officials would not participate in some of the G20 meetings if Russian officials attended, although it was unclear at the time which meetings U.S. and Russian officials would attend at the same time.

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On the 19th local time, German Chancellor Scholz issued a statement in Berlin after a conference call with the heads of government of NATO allies and other partner countries, saying that Germany will closely coordinate with allies on financial and military support for Ukraine. Scholz re-emphasized that Germany will not act alone on this issue, but will coordinate with partner countries - "It is wrong for Germany to go it alone." According to him, Germany and its allies will also pay close attention to sanctions against Russia impact of measures and prepare for next steps. In addition, Scholz once again called for "serious negotiations" between Russia and Ukraine and a quick ceasefire.

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The U.S. 10-year inflation-protected bond (TIPS) yield rose above negative territory on Tuesday for the first time since March 2020, when the Federal Reserve announced unprecedented stimulus in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Positive inflation-protected bond yields mean investors will still be able to make ends meet on Treasuries 10 years from now, after factoring in expected inflation. Investors expect the Fed to continue to tighten policy, and those expectations pushed Treasury yields to three-year highs. By keeping real yields below zero, the Fed has tried to offset economic weakness as the spread of the virus has led to business closures and layoffs. Fixed-income investors such as pensioners have been hit, though, because their investment returns have not been enough to offset the impact of higher consumer prices.

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Bank of America technical strategist Paul Ciana said the bank reiterated its bullish view on gold since February, expecting gold prices to rise to $2,175 an ounce in the future. That target is 9.9% above Monday's close and would be a new all-time high. “We think the daily, weekly and monthly bars still bode well for gold prices this year,” Ciana said in a note. Ciana sees bulls buying tactically on dips around $1,940-$1,950 and investing in mid-term buys around $1,888 Entry; silver prices broke out of a bearish channel and also formed a bullish wedge continuation pattern, “which portends a move to near $30 an ounce for silver,” Ciana said.

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Sterling fell below $1.30 on Tuesday, just a stone’s throw from $1.2973, its lowest since November 2020 touched last week, for a fourth straight day of losses amid doubts about the path of Bank of England policy and political uncertainty Increase; while UK government bond yields have extended their gains in recent days, investors are increasingly uncertain whether the Bank of England will follow in the footsteps of some of the world's major central banks and raise interest rates sharply to curb inflation. Data last week showed U.K. consumer price inflation jumped to 7 percent in March, the highest in 30 years, but money markets slightly tempered expectations for how much the Bank of England will raise interest rates for the rest of the year.

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The Nordic country will begin negotiations with companies operating in parts of its North Sea, according to an energy proposal submitted by the Danish government on Tuesday, April 19, and has pledged to speed up administrative procedures to allow more gas to be produced. Denmark is currently the EU's eighth-largest gas producer, and work on upgrading its largest North Sea Tyra project has led to a sharp drop in production. But as upgrades are completed next year, production will increase, making Denmark self-sufficient in gas; some countries, including Germany, Latvia, Estonia, Greece and Italy, are looking to develop new LNG import terminals to reduce demand for gas. Dependence on Russia. Some European buyers recently met with U.S. LNG companies and toured an LNG plant in Texas. The Danish government plans to quadruple production of solar and onshore wind by 2030 to support the green transition. In addition, the government will also give subsidies to help households replace their heating systems.

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As the Ukrainian crisis has curtailed global energy supply constraints, Libya's short-term production cuts will cause more damage, which will put further pressure on prices. Libya's average crude oil production is 1.2 million barrels per day. The possibility of an EU ban on Russian oil imports continued to keep markets nervous. Russian troops have launched their expected offensive in eastern Ukraine, trying to push defenses along nearly the entire Donbas front in the second phase of the war.