A 12% y/y drop in Q4 gold jewellery consumption to 547t- took the annual total down to 1,877t, down 11%, as unrelenting gold price strength impacted consumers’ ability to buy, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in a report on Wednesday.
For 2025, the WGC said central banks and “ETF investors likely to drive demand with economic uncertainty supporting gold’s role as a risk hedge, but on the flipside, keeping pressure on jewellery.”
Source – Seeking Alpha
Oil flows from the United States to China in the early months of this year have reportedly added up to roughly 1% of the country’s imports, amid growing tariffs and trade risks.
“With China imposing 84% tariffs on goods from the US, the cost of US crude would be almost double — $51 a barrel more expensive, based on $61 WTI,” Ivan Mathews, head of APAC analysis for Vortexa told Bloomberg. “This makes running US crude uneconomical for Chinese refiners.”
US crude imports to China will “likely dwindle to zero in the coming months if the current tariff levels stay,” he added.
Source – Seeking Alpha
With prices for most of its popular products ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 yuan, Laopu now competes more directly with Western luxury brands such as Tiffany and Cartier.
As rising gold prices in 2024 pushed investors toward bullion and coins and gold jewellery sales in China fell 24.69% to 532.02 tonnes, Laopu twice raised prices on its designer jewellery and trinkets. It again upped prices by 5-12% last month.
But analysts say Laopu is a contender to fully break through the luxury glass ceiling.
“It’s not an imminent threat to global luxury groups because to build a luxury brand takes a long time. You need a story, you need a history, you need the craftsmanship, but it’s possible,” said Jonathan Yan, a principal at consultancy Roland Berger in Shanghai.
Source – Reuters
Another day, another record for gold. Gold is a go-to safe haven in times of economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and loss of faith in governments. The result was a 3.0% gain for gold this past week and a close at the magical $3,000.
Other precious metals rose this past week. Silver was up 4.9%, while platinum gained 4.8% and is back over $1,000. Near precious metals saw palladium up 1.9% and copper gaining 4.0% as it marches towards $5.00.
Source – Silver Seek
Spot gold gained 0.4% to $3,312.05 an ounce by 08:56 a.m. EDT (1255 GMT), after hitting a session low of $3,285.19 on Tuesday.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.3% to $3,310.60.
“The gold market has been kind of choppy recently, just reacting to fresh daily fundamental news events with no real trending price action. In the near term, market top is in place,” Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, said.
Goldman Sachs recommended on Wednesday a higher-than-usual allocation to gold in long-term portfolios, citing elevated risks to U.S. institutional credibility, pressure on the Fed, and sustained central bank demand.
Spot silver fell 0.3% to $33.20 an ounce, platinum firmed 0.8% to $1,088.65 and palladium eased 0.6% at $972.36.
Source – Reuters
President Trump and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have now targeted the San Francisco Mint for closure in a bid to sell the real estate on which the National Register of Historic Places structure stands, theoretically to reduce government expenses.
Mint-wide, the bureau has already trimmed more than 100 full-time staffers, with an edict from DOGE to trim another 200, while the bureau wrestles with vacancies, some of which still need to be filled. Many of the positions trimmed were resolved through resignations and retirements.
Closing the San Francisco Mint could affect the production of many numismatic products, such as Proof sets, silver Proof sets, Proof commemorative coins and Matte silver presidential medals.
Source – Coin World
