The economic backdrop to this meeting is not ideal for stock market bulls. Data on Tuesday showed a higher than expected Employment Cost Index for Q1, which rose by 1.2%, more than expected and the highest rate of increase since Q1 2023. Added to this, the Conference Board consumer confidence reading for April slipped to 97.0, from 102.1 in March. This is the lowest reading since July 2022, and suggests that US economic momentum could be waning.
Chart 2: Sector performance for the S&P 500 in April Source: XTB and Bloomberg Gold is an inflation hedge, the price of gold per tonne has had a mixed month – reaching a record high, before pulling back. The price per ounce of gold is higher by 2.95% in April, easily outperforming US and global stock indices.