Weekly Market Analysis 13 - 17 March 2023

Last week, the US non-farm employment data and the US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell's presentation to the US Senate on monetary policy came to the fore. Fed Chairman Powell, in his presentation on Tuesday, stated that the peak level in interest rates may be higher than expected, and expressed that they are ready to increase the pace of interest rate hikes if necessary. Nonfarm payrolls in the US increased by 311 thousand in February, above the expectation of 225 thousand. With Powell's message that they may have to increase interest rates more and perhaps faster than previously anticipated, global markets were active and a selling trend was followed. In addition, the concerns that the Fed's hawkish stance would increase the risks in the banking sector decreased the risk appetite. While the ounce of gold closed the week with sellers, it rose to the levels of $ 1,880 with the opening of the Asian market this week.