Gold prices dipped on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at lower tariffs for China and said he has no plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Spot gold fell 2.1% to $3,310.29 an ounce, as of 0811 GMT, after hitting a record high of $3,500.05 in the previous session.
Spot silver rose 1% to $32.85 an ounce.
Platinum was up 0.6% at $964.35 and palladium was steady at $935.48.
Source – Reuters
Shipments of refined copper from the central African country jumped by 71% year-on-year to 1.48 million metric tons in 2024. The Congo is now by some margin the largest supplier of refined metal to the world’s largest buyer.
The Congo’s share of Chinese copper imports has risen from 10% in 2020 to 36.7% with volumes steadily increasing over the fourth quarter. December’s imports of 167,735 tons were a new monthly record.
Source – Reuters
“The uncertainty surrounding Trump’s first measures as U.S. president fuelled demand for gold as a safe haven. This can be seen, among other things, in the strong inflow of more than 10 tons into the world’s largest and most liquid gold ETF on Friday,” Commerzbank Research said.
“The uncertainty as to whether tariffs will be introduced on gold and silver has already left visible traces on the Comex in recent weeks. In addition, the price premium for gold on the Comex has widened significantly compared to the spot price in London.”
Source – Seeking Alpha
Major stock indexes rallied, the dollar gained against the euro and other currencies while safe-haven gold dropped on Wednesday as investors grew optimistic about a possible de-escalation in the trade war between the U.S. and China.
“There seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel here in terms of the trade war,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
The euro was last down 0.36% against the dollar at $1.1379. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.49% to 142.28.
U.S. Treasury yields declined after the U.S. administration’s signal of a potential respite in the U.S.-China trade war and Trump’s softening stance on Powell.
Source – Reuters
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE)
, opens new tab held steady at 24,793.53 points, mirroring the sentiment on Wall Street.
However, high silver and gold prices helped limit losses for Canadian stocks.
“A lot of gains were experienced yesterday and today you are probably going to see muted markets,” Allan Small, senior investment adviser at Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth, said on Thursday.
The Bank of Canada is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.00% when it meets later this month, according to a Reuters poll of economists.
Source – Reuters
“Gold extended gains on Friday, with spot gold in the domestic market hitting fresh all-time highs,” Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst of Commodities at HDFC Securities, said.
“Prices in MCX are near record high as Trump trade policies and tariff plans created an uncertain environment in the market, which may boost safe-haven demand,” Deveya Gaglani, Research Analyst-Commodities, Axis Securities, said.
Comex silver futures also increased 1.53 per cent to USD 31.32 per ounce in the Asian market hours.
Source – Press Trust of India
“We could envision a situation where inflation migrates higher, while the economy slows down as the auto sector grinds to a sudden halt, for example,” said Bart Melek, global head of commodity strategy at TD Securities. “Higher inflation and low rates, and the associated angst with the president’s imposition of tariffs, so uncertainty and risk are helping gold.”
“These tariffs create a strong tailwind for gold,” Bank of Montreal analysts wrote in a note. “Not only because of their inherent inflationary effects but also as the USA’s increasingly hawkish foreign policy may accelerate de-dollarisation plans.”
Source – Bloomberg