U.S. and U.S. crude oil prices continued their gains, with WTI rising 8 cents to $84.79 a barrel, and Brent crude rising nearly $1 to $91.6 a barrel. Spot gold just broke through the US$1,670.00/ounce mark, and was last at US$1,670.12/ounce, up 0.32% on the daily chart; COMEX gold futures were last at US$1,678.40 per ounce, up 0.44% on the day. Investors are bracing for another aggressive rate hike by the Federal Reserve, the main focus of this week's packed central bank meeting. The Fed is set to begin a two-day meeting on Tuesday, and interest rate futures traders see an 83% chance of a 75 basis point hike and a 17% chance of a 100 basis point hike.

The U.S. dollar has been fluctuating within a narrow range after its sharp rise. Tuesday's rise suggests that the U.S. dollar may start a new round of gains, which is not good for gold. The dollar has soared about 15% and is on track for its biggest annual percentage gain in 41 years. Currency strategists at UBS in New York said it was difficult to see the dollar peaking at this point. Short-term factors are driving demand for the dollar, such as weak risk appetite, concerns about a global recession, a hawkish stance by the Federal Reserve and the war in Ukraine. Once U.S. inflation peaks and the global economy bottoms out, the dollar will go lower, but we're not there yet.

Core inflation, which excludes changes in food and energy prices, rose much faster than expected. In particular, the inflation report shows that the current inflation problem has penetrated into all aspects of the U.S. economy, complicating the Federal Reserve's fight against inflation. A study presented at the Brookings Institution conference predicted that to achieve the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target, the U.S. unemployment rate could surge to about 7.5%, double its current level, which would mean 6 million Americans People are unemployed. The report, co-authored by Professor Power of Johns Hopkins University and two economists from the IMF, Lee and Mishra, said only such a sharp recession would suppress wage increases and consumer spending and cool down the economy. ?Inflation.