Gold rose but weaker than expected: December report

Twangiza Mining, a gold miner operating in the rebel-controlled South Kivu Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, said it has been ordered to suspend operations by the rebel administration, according to a company-wide letter seen by Reuters.

Manu Birato, who was recently installed as M23 governor of the South Kivu Province, said Twangiza Mining must adapt to new regulations and pay taxes they have not been paying.

“We are in talks with them and showing them that from now on they must start paying taxes,” Birato told Reuters.

Source – Reuters

Stocks recoiled on Wednesday, while safe-haven gold held near record highs as a nervous world awaited details of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans and investors fretted about the risks of an intensifying global trade war.

“Whatever’s announced today, I doubt very much will be the framework that’s in place in, say, nine months’ time because we know there’ll be negotiations around this,” Daiwa Capital economist Chris Scicluna said.

“It’s very difficult to predict with any confidence what the ultimate impact is going to be, whether broadly, economically, in terms of rates or in terms of stock markets,” he said.

“Investors are hoping for some clarity, and perhaps the start of the deal-making phase. But tariffs are already weighing on business sentiment, and this will probably feed through into lower global economic activity in the coming months,” said Ben Bennett, Asia-Pacific investment strategist at Legal & General Investment Management.

Source – Reuters

ANZ raised its zero to 3-month gold price forecast to $3,100 per ounce and 6-month forecast to $3,200 per ounce, according to a research note on Tuesday.

For gold “we maintain our bullish view, amid strong tailwinds from escalating geopolitical and trade tensions, easing monetary policy, and strong central bank buying,” the bank said.

Source – Reuters