Wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and continuing lower US interest rates have burnished gold’s billing as an investment, but it is the unrelenting Chinese demand that is juicing the rally.

Property agents have raised sales forecasts for the year amid project launches at discounted prices, but say a lack of a rate cut could pare those estimates.

China has continued to sell its holdings in US debt as the likelihood of expected interest rate cuts grows more remote and Beijing looks to widen the diversity of its foreign asset pool.

Asia looks ready to turn a corner in quarterly earnings growth this results season. Here are five key themes to watch as the report cards roll in over the next few weeks.

Hang Seng Index hovers near a five-week low after comments by Fed chairman Jerome Powell, who said it could take ‘longer than expected’ to get inflation back on target.

In an uncertain monetary environment where the US Federal Reserve has yet to announce interest rate cuts, China’s central bank is seeing potential moves to increase activity constrained by pressures on the yuan.

Even after President Xi Jinping has asked for China’s central bank to trade government bonds, the outcome is likely to remain limited as the bank does not want to trigger negative outcomes for inflation and exchange rates.

The lived-in home-price index fell 1.7 per cent in February versus 1.2 per cent in January, according to the Rating and Valuation Department. Prices have fallen for 10 months in a row, losing 13.7 per cent in value.

People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has named two new academic advisers for its monetary policy committee, which submits advice to the State Council on key moves including interest rate changes and the value of the yuan.

Senior central bank official says China’s monetary policies are ‘effective and obvious when compared with foreign central banks’.

‘There are only a few [international financial centres], and Hong Kong is one of them. It is hard-won. We must not lose this place,’ CK Hutchison and CK Asset chairman says.

The US central bank kept rates unchanged on Wednesday, but also stayed the course in its forecast for 3 rate cuts this year.

High-profile economist and former State Council researcher warns that potential US capital injections in China, following any Fed rate cuts, might be tumultuous for already-battered markets.

China has the world’s largest foreign exchange reserves, but some have argued Beijing needs to reduce its size, while others believe having a sizeable holding remains important.

Of the 30 cities monitored in the Savills World Prime Residential Index, 17 will see price declines, with Hong Kong projected to see the highest drop of up to 10 per cent and as much as 3.9 per cent in Singapore.

Property deals in Hong Kong surged in January to their highest since August on stepped-up buying amid expectations of stable interest rates and hopes that a government residency scheme will draw more investments into the sector.

The 4.25 per cent, 2.5-year bonds were oversubscribed more than three times, totalling HK$15.69 billion (US$2 billion) from 175,178 applications.

The banks’ decisions followed the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), which left the city’s base rate at 5.75 per cent hours after the Fed kept its target range unchanged in its first policy move of the year.

The precious metal rallied 13 per cent last year, touching a record in early December, on the back of economic and political uncertainty, geopolitical tensions.

While a number of factors beyond Hong Kong’s borders are affecting its property market, another price war brought on by new residential projects will also impact any recovery, says JLL Chairman Joseph Tsang.

Analysts and traders are divided over whether the Fed will cut rates in March, or whether a move later in the year would make more sense.