Proposed designs for a half-ounce .9999 fine gold Sacagawea dollar to be issued in 2025 by the United States Mint, to recognize the 25th anniversary of the 2000 release into circulation of the manganese-brass clad Sacagawea dollar, were reviewed and recommended Feb. 18 by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.
The U.S. Mint is preparing to strike the coins with a W Mint mark at the West Point Mint.
Source – Coin World
Copper is generally a good indicator because it’s used all over the economy — in factories, houses, electronics and streetlights, per Chris Berry, founder and president of House Mountain Partners.
“The next time you’re on an airplane at night, and you’re coming in for a landing, and you see any lights or anything like that, every single one of those lights is working because of the electrical conductivity of copper,” he said.
So, if the economy is growing, and we’re building more, we’ll need more copper.
Source – Market Place
Spot gold was up 0.6% at $3,373.09 an ounce, as of 0552 GMT. U.S. gold futures gained 1.5% to $3,393.80.
The weakness in the dollar index serves as a strong catalyst, said Kelvin Wong, a senior market analyst, Asia Pacific at OANDA, adding that a “bullish breakout” of the $3,346 resistance triggered technical buying.
Spot silver was up 0.4% at $36.38 per ounce, platinum rose 1.2% to $1,271.15, still hovering near a more than 4-year high, while palladium was down 1.1% at $1,068.19.
Source – Reuters
Goldman Sachs says U.S. net copper imports could rise by 50%-100% in the coming months due to higher U.S. prices before the Trump administration’s planned tariffs, which the bank believes will be imposed at 25% and lead to the surge in imports and a 200K-300K-ton increase in U.S. copper inventories by the end of Q3.
“We maintain our forecast that the LME month-month price will average $10,200/ton in 2024 Q3, and see the impact of inventory dislocation predominantly in timespreads,” the bank writes.
Source – Seeking Alpha
Central banks worldwide are on track to buy 1,000 metric tons of gold in 2025, which would be their fourth year of massive purchases as they diversify reserves from dollar-denominated assets into bullion, consultancy Metals Focus said.
The price rally has so far kept purchases by central banks, a crucial category of demand, unaffected with the first-quarter buying in line with the 2022-24 quarterly average, Metals Focus said in its annual report on Thursday.
Jewelry demand for bullion has been hit hard by the price rally. Gold jewelry fabrication fell 9% to 2,011 tons in 2024 and is expected to deliver a 16% slump this year with India and China accounting for much of this decline.
Source – Reuters
Spot gold hit a record $3,004.86 per ounce on Friday, marking its thirteenth all-time high in 2025. Prices have already climbed 14% this year, after surging 27% in 2024.
“With continued central bank buying, there are multiple factors driving demand. In a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty and ongoing tariff changes, appetite for gold remains strong,” said Standard Chartered analyst Suki Cooper.
“The inflation data is helping to give the market confidence that the easing cycle will continue, given concerns around inflation and growth,” said Standard Chartered analyst Suki Cooper.
Source – Reuters
