Gold Prices Fall Amid Rate Jitters; Copper Steady as China Stimulus Eyed 
US economic activity and hiring were impacted by adverse weather conditions in Q1, exerting downward pressures on UST yields and the USD. However, there are signs of an imminent recovery in Q2.
The latest Fed Beige book has reported a rebound in activity from mid-February as the economy recovered from the harsh winter weather, despite the headwinds of a stronger dollar and less energy investment.
The labour market is improving, as initial jobless claims are low while unemployment has continued to fall to a fresh post-recession low.
Moreover, the drag from energy prices to US CPI inflation seems to be fading with solid core inflation suggested by last week's inflation report.
Barclays notes:
- We forecast new homes sales (Thursday) to have risen 1.4% m/m to 547k in March, in line with our view of a gradual normalization in the coming quarters following choppy housing starts during Q1 on the back of harsh winter weather.
- We are below consensus in our expectations regarding durable goods orders (Friday), expecting them to have declined 0.3% m/m in March following the 1.4% m/m decline in February.
- We expect orders excluding transportation to have fallen 0.7% m/m, and forecast a 0.5% m/m decline in core capital goods orders.
