Gold Maintains Biggest Drop

As stated in Bloomberg data, ten-year Treasuries had the worst beginning to a year in more than a decade, with yields increasing 12 basis points on Monday, the most significant first-day leap since 2009. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index completed at a record high on risk-on sentiment.

Bullion fell last year in its most significant yearly drop since 2015 as central banks began to dial back epidemic-era stimulus to combat inflation. Traders are also watching the risks posed by the omicron virus variant. This week, they will concentrate on the releases of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting and the U.S. nonfarm payrolls data.

Spot gold climbed 0.1% to $1,803.81 an ounce at 7:54 a.m. in Singapore. Afterward, it fell 1.5% Monday, the most since Nov. 22. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was low after adding 0.5% in the previous session. Silver and platinum were stable, while palladium advanced.

Omicron Surge

On Monday, the U.S. notched more than 1 million new coronavirus cases, surpassing the previous record for any country worldwide by a distance. The holidays also skewed the figures, which have slowed reporting in some cases. However, it dashingly increased the potential for transmission.

Omicron, the new dominant strain of the infection, seems to cause less severe illness than previous strains: hospitalizations are still about 30% below last year’s peak, and in South Africa, where the new variant first appeared, the wave of infections has peaked without overstraining the country’s health service. Nevertheless, the short-term surge in cases leads to raised absenteeism, particularly in service sectors like airlines and healthcare. Over 4,000 flights were withdrawn over the last weekend in the U.S.

Overseas, the Indian capital of Delhi reimposed a weekend curfew to prevent the rise in cases.