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
The history of National Coin Week began in 1923, when American Numismatic Association Governor Julius Guttag suggested to the association’s President, Moritz Wormser, that a week-long event should be established “to attract the general public to our hobby and consequently increase our membership, and aid in our science.” That December, the first announcement of a “Coin Week” was made in The Numismatist and scheduled for the week of February 9-16, 1924.
In 2026, America will celebrate 250 years of independence. This milestone invites us to reflect on the many ways money and freedom are connected.
Source – American Numismatic Association
Kiyosaki said, “Trump tariffs begin: gold, silver, Bitcoin may crash.” He indicated his plan to purchase more Bitcoin if prices plummet, seeing it as an opportunity to grow his wealth. However, he also pointed out the U.S. national debt as a major problem that Bitcoin might not be able to address.
Source – Benzinga
Fluor president of mining & metals Harish Jammula said: “We are excited to support BHP on their growth plans to increase production of refined copper cathode in south Australia.
“Accelerated expansion of the downstream processing sector is increasingly important to secure local supply of mined materials, become independent of overseas supply and drive sustainable production technologies.”
Source – Global Data
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the White House was “very busy” crafting its trade policy as the clock ticks down on his self-imposed August 1 deadline. At that point, America could fundamentally reshape the way it does business around the world.
Trump signed executive actions on Wednesday imposing a 50% tariff on Brazil, a 50% tariff on certain copper products and suspending a tax perk for all countries that allowed cheap packages to fly into the US duty-free.
Trump said the agreement, if completed, would include developing Pakistan’s oil reserves with a yet-to-be-named oil company.
Source – CNN
In the latest market close, Ero Copper Corp. (ERO) reached $13.17, with a +1.15% movement compared to the previous day. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.27%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.51%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.03%.
The the stock of company has fallen by 6.67% in the past month, lagging the Basic Materials sector’s gain of 7.68% and the S&P 500’s gain of 4.27%.
The company’s earnings report is set to go public on March 6, 2025.
Source – Zacks.com
Spot gold fell 0.1% to $3,030.13 an ounce, as of 09:35 a.m. ET
“There are concerns that tariffs could spark inflation, and there’s a consensus that despite rising prices from U.S. tariffs, the Federal Reserve might start easing policy around mid-year,” said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities.
“I expect gold to trade roughly where it is now, give or take about $25,” Melek said.
Spot silver dropped 1.2% to $33.61 an ounce, platinum lost 1.6% to $980.90 and palladium fell 0.8% to $959.20
Source – Reuters
While U.S. tariffs and other factors have added fire to already hot demand for gold as an investment, the impact is different for gold jewellery, according to Andrew Naylor
“In markets like Dubai, this creates a two-fold effect: on one hand, you see stronger interest in gold as a safe-haven asset, on the other, high prices dampen jewellery demand.”
“There are no potential customers nowadays because of the gold prices,” said Fahad Khan, a sales representative at retailer Damas Jewellery.
“Higher gold prices are likely to dampen demand for jewellery, in a classic example of how the best cure for high prices is high prices,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Source – Reuters
