from Kitco NEWS
Fed Chair Janet Yellen spoke this week and as markets continue to digest her ‘dovish’ comments, gold remains under pressure. The metal was slightly weaker Wednesday — as markets await Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report — with June gold settling the day down by $8.90 at $1,228.60 an ounce. For Kitco’s Global Trading Director Peter Hug however, he finds the conflicting opinions among U.S. central bankers unhelpful. ‘I’m angry and disappointed at the Fed, more so at the Fed Presidents being extremely hawkish,’ he told Kitco News Wednesday. He was referring to hawkish comments from four regional Fed officials last week that confused markets as to how the central bank will proceed with monetary policy. The diverging views between officials and the Fed Chair, according to Hug, is ‘counter-productive’ to markets. ‘It’s absolutely an asinine comment from all of those hawks given the global economic conditions,’ he said. ‘Personally, I think they should keep their mouths shut and have Chair Yellen come out as a unified approach as to what the Fed policy will be.’ Looking ahead to the much-anticipated employment report, Hug said he doesn’t really care. ‘A lot of this is just noise.’