Indonesia’s government may allow Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) to export ~1M tons of copper concentrate, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said Friday.
Freeport Indonesia (FCX) has been seeking permission to export copper concentrate after it was forced to stop copper cathode production at its new smelter in Gresik after a fire broke out at its gas cleaning unit in October.
Source – Seeking Alpha
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday that the Trump Gold Card, which makes it possible for any foreigner to buy a visa for $5 million, will be available online within weeks.
“The details of that will come soon after, but people can start to register. And all that will come over a matter of the next weeks — not month, weeks,” Lutnick said.
Source – FOX News
I have only recently seen the amount of news on this topic and was intrigued. Please let me know if this is a topic that you would like to see more of as I will just post more on this and write a piece on it. -V
Quarter dollars in the set are produced at the San Francisco Mint and will feature reverse designs recognizing, in order of release, Ida B. Wells, a founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America; Dr. Vera Rubin, trailblazing astronomer; Stacey Park Milbern, disabilities rights advocate; and Althea Gibson, accomplished amateur tennis player and professional golfer.
The clad composition comprises outer layers of an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel bonded to a core of pure copper.
Source – Coin World
Bill HB306, now awaiting signature from Governor Spencer Cox, authorizes the state treasurer to issue a competitive procurement for a precious metals-backed electronic payment platform. This will allow state vendors to opt for payment in physical gold and silver.
Rep. Kenneth Ivory sponsored Bill HB306, and Sen. Keith Grover pushed the legislation through the Senate. The state politicians noted that the legislation is the latest evolution in Utah’s stance in favor of sound money.
“In uncertain economic times, Utah is providing vendors and service providers with the option to receive payment in gold and silver,” Rep. Ivory said. “This law gives Utahns an alternative to choose how they preserve the purchasing power of their earnings and savings.”
Source – KITCO News
China’s gold reserves rose to 73.61 million fine troy ounces at the end of February from 73.45 million at the end of January, as the central bank kept buying the precious metal for a fourth straight month.
“The PBOC’s purchases are an important factor underpinning gold, so a continuation of its buying in February could help to build further strength behind the gold price,” said Frank Watson, market analyst at Kinesis Money.
“Unlike investors, central banks are relatively price insensitive to gold and tend to buy as part of a restructuring of their reserve holdings,” Watson said.
Source – Reuters
Spot gold was up 0.2% at $3,374.54 an ounce, as of 0505 GMT. U.S. gold futures eased 0.5% to $3,391.90.
“Gold has made a modest bounce as we await the next steps in the Israel-Iran conflict. If the U.S. does decide to get directly involved in the conflict this could raise the geopolitical stakes,” KCM Trade Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer said.
“The Fed was not as dovish as some had hoped, and I’d argue Powell was a tad more hawkish than many would like. The U.S. dollar is likely at oversold levels, and that is likely to cap gains on gold over the next few weeks,” said Matt Simpson, a senior analyst at City Index.
Source – Reuters
Markets initially dropped after Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinted at fewer rate cuts next year, but quickly recovered as investors recognized this aligned with recent expectations, said StoneX analyst Rhona O’Connell.
“Gold sold off, showcasing once more that it is not an inflation hedge per se, but regained some lost ground on a threatened U.S. government shutdown,” said Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer.
Source – Reuters https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-recovers-one-month-low-short-covering-2024-12-19/
“Gold is reacting to a sharp rise in the U.S. dollar after a hawkish Fed cut,” said Michael Armbruster, co-founder and managing partner at Altavest. Source – Market Watch https://www.marketwatch.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-futures-rise-ahead-of-final-rate-decision-and-economic-forecast-of-the-year/card/gold-futures-decline-after-fed-announcement-WFThfHDv2mQxezfnO3an
“Despite the pullback we’ve seen in gold prices following yesterday’s Fed statement, we believe gold’s positive momentum will continue in the short to medium term,” Manthey said by email. Source – CNBC https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/the-fed-s-hawkish-signal-sparked-gold-jitters-but-analysts-see-support-for-the-precious-metal-in-2025/ar-AA1wajju?ocid=socialshare
