Gold has benefited from geopolitical uncertainty and central bank demand, but a prolonged period of restrictive Fed policy presents risks.
Source – FXEMPIRE
Source – Money Metals
India’s steel-to-power conglomerate JSW Group plans to set up a 500,000 metric ton capacity copper smelter in the eastern state of Odisha by 2028/29 with feedstock of copper concentrate from Peru and Chile, a source directly aware of the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
JSW plans to feed its planned electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facilities with the copper produced at the smelter, the source added. Some of the concentrate supply will come from Hindustan Copper, the source said.
Source – Reuters
India’s central bank plans to ask lenders to follow stricter underwriting processes for gold loans and monitor the end-use of funds as it tries to cool growth in the fast-growing segment, seven people, including industry sources and those aware of the regulator’s thinking, said.
“The RBI wants to ensure that the entities are following a standard protocol and any growth in the gold loan sector is not out of bounds,” one of the sources aware of the central bank’s thinking, said.
Source – Reuters
“The white metal may get squeezed, as recovering Asian demand absorbs recent inventory builds in the aftermath of the Chinese slowdown and the base metal concentrate processing capacity increases,”
“We project the metal to average $36/oz in the final months of next year, making it a commodity outperformer as the XAU/XAG ratio challenges yearly lows.”
“With its low correlation to traditional assets such as equities and bonds, silver offers powerful diversification benefits,” Silver Institute said. “Historically, silver has proven its value during times of economic and geopolitical crises, serving as a reliable hedge against inflation, currency devaluation, and systemic financial instability. In the context of the modern global landscape, this role has become even more pronounced.”
The U.S. Federal Reserve jolted markets with an unexpectedly hawkish set of projections for the path of interest rates next year, setting gold prices up for a blow — but analysts told CNBC they still see solid support for the precious metal in 2025.
The Fed’s “dot plot,” a gauge of policymakers’ outlook, now suggests the Fed will cut interest rates twice in 2025, compared with four quarter-point cuts previously expected in September, when concerns about the weakening labor market were front-of-mind. The big concern for the central bank is now whether the policies of incoming President-elect Donald Trump — particularly his threat of sweeping trade tariffs — will prove inflationary.
Source – CNBC
