• Gold reaches 1-week high
• Geopolitical tensions in focus
• Fed officials to speak this week
• FOMC minutes & PCE reading due next week

Gold hit the 1-week high amid rising fears of geopolitical tensions.

Besides gold, other safe havens are also rising in tandem:

• USD Index is now up ~0.05% percent
• Japanese Yen is stronger against all its G10 peers
• Swiss Franc is stronger against its counterparts in Europe, namely the euro and the pound

This comes on the back of new policies introduced by the US and Russia:

• President Biden allowed use of long-range, US made missiles by the Ukraine

• President Putin has signed new Russian nuclear doctrine

If the ongoing conflict escalates further, then the above-listed safe havens could rise even further

This could come at the expense of the risker assets such as stock indices (e.g. US500, NAS100, US30).

Investors are also focusing on speeches by several Fed officials scheduled for this week, hoping to gain insight into the foreseeable interest rate policy.

• Thursday (Nov 21): Goolsbee (Chicago Fed President) and Hammack (Cleveland Fed President)

As of this writing (source: CME FedWatch Tool), the markets are pricing in a 61.6% probability of a 0.25% rate cut next December (38.4% for no change).

What might be worth keeping an eye on?

• Geopolitical developments
• Initial Jobless Claims, due Thursday Nov 21st
• FMOC Minutes, due Tuesday Nov 26th
• PCE reading – the Fed's preferred way of measuring inflation, due Wednesday, Nov 27th

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