China gold falls 5.96%
China’s gold consumption fell 5.96% year-on-year to 290.492 tonnes in the first quarter of 2025 as high gold prices continued to curb demand for gold jewellery, the China Gold Association said on Monday.
Source – Reuters
Gold prices rose more than 1% on Tuesday as a weaker dollar and uncertainty over U.S. tariffs, along with concerns about the country’s fiscal outlook, drove investors towards safe-haven assets.
Spot gold climbed 1.4% to $3,349.32 an ounce by 1203 GMT while U.S. gold futures jumped 1.6% to $3,361.70.
Spot silver firmed 0.9% to $36.41 an ounce, platinum was down 0.1% at $1,351.80 and palladium gained 2.5% to $1,124.79.
Source – Reuters
While U.S. tariffs and other factors have added fire to already hot demand for gold as an investment, the impact is different for gold jewellery, according to Andrew Naylor
“In markets like Dubai, this creates a two-fold effect: on one hand, you see stronger interest in gold as a safe-haven asset, on the other, high prices dampen jewellery demand.”
“There are no potential customers nowadays because of the gold prices,” said Fahad Khan, a sales representative at retailer Damas Jewellery.
“Higher gold prices are likely to dampen demand for jewellery, in a classic example of how the best cure for high prices is high prices,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Source – Reuters
In a complaint filed in Boone Circuit Court on March 27, the same day the legislation was delivered to the secretary of state’s office, an online bullion exchange and three Northern Kentucky residents said they and others are owed refunds on taxes improperly collected for their precious metals in the past eight months, naming Gov. Andy Beshear and several state offices as defendants.
The state representative, a frequent foil to Beshear who told colleagues in the House he sponsored the bill to ensure Kentuckians do not “pay taxes that were never lawful in the first place.”
HB 2 ensures the sale, use, storage or other consumption of “bullion currency” — gold, silver, platinum and other precious metals — cannot be taxed, overriding a line-item veto by Beshear that was included in a separate bill passed in 2024.
HB 2, which was filed in January and approved on party-line votes in the House and Senate, allows anyone who paid taxes on gold and silver after that Aug. 1 deadline to seek a refund in court.
Source – Courier Journal
“What we have seen is the change in the motive for safe-haven buying – from being driven by the Middle East uncertainty to the threat and realisation of tariffs,” said Philip Newman, managing director at consultancy Metals Focus.
“Strikingly, gold was rallying as inflation eased, and it looked as though all of our understanding of how gold prices behaved was being challenged,” said independent analyst Ross Norman.
Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at MKS PAMP SA, said that while prices could break out towards $3,200, resolution of physical gold dislocations attributed to tariffs and potential structural changes including reduced risk appetite, reduced participation and reduced liquidity are increasingly bearish.
Source – Reuters
Bear (in finance) – is an investor who believes that a particular security or the broader market is headed downward and my attempt to profit from a decline in stock prices. Bears are typically pessimistic towards a state of any given market or underlying economy.
Endeavour Silver shares rose after the company reported an adjusted profit, despite lower production and revenue in the fourth quarter.
Shares rose over 18% to 6.18 Canadian dollars ($4.28)
Source – Market Watch
Spot gold steadied at $2,795.52 per ounce by 11:18 GMT, after hitting a record peak of $2,800.99 earlier in the session. Prices rose more than 6% for the month and 1% for the week.
“The rally could hold for as long as there is uncertainty in the market. A lot of today’s uncertainty stems from not knowing whether and how tariffs will be applied,” said WisdomTree commodities strategist Nitesh Shah.
“We see central bank buying as the strongest structural force in the gold market, underpinning our long-term constructive view,” said Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer.
Source – Reuters