When Donald Trump took office in January 2017, few could predict the meteoric rise in gold prices that would follow. By the time he left office in January 2021, gold had surged by over 53%, reaching a price of $1,841 per troy ounce—up from $1,208 at the start of his term, according to data from the World Gold Council.
Source – CNBC TV18
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
The inflow into physically backed gold exchange-traded funds in April was the largest since March, 2022, with China-listed funds leading the move due to the country’s trade war with the U.S., data from the World Gold Council showed on Thursday.
Gold ETFs saw an inflow of 115.3 metric tons worth $11.2 billion last month, the largest amount since March 2022, when global markets were grappling with the immediate consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This move raised Gold ETFs’ total holdings by 3.3% to 3,560.8 tons by the end of April
Source – Reuters
Spot gold gained 0.8% to $3,340.53 an ounce as of 0300 GMT, after hitting its highest level since May 9.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.9% to $3,341.90.
“Gold’s bullish reversal is supported by a weaker U.S. dollar and lingering stagflation risks in the U.S. economy,” said Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst, Asia Pacific at OANDA.
Spot silver rose 0.5% to $33.54 an ounce, platinum gained 0.1% to $1,077.33 and palladium lost 0.6% to $1,031.46.
Source – Reuters
“We’ve interdeveloped or interwoven cleanup of these legacy impacts with modern, responsible mining activity,” Mckinsey Lyon, spokesperson for Perpetua Resources, told the Idaho Statesman. “And we’ve done that because we’re so serious about our commitment that we can leave this place better.”
“Perpetua has a really glamorous vision for what the site is going to look like afterwards, and I hope that’s successful,” John Robison, public lands and wildlife director with the Idaho Conservation League, told the Statesman. “I don’t see that from the mine plan.”
“This approval elevates the Stibnite Gold Project to an elite class of projects in America that have cleared NEPA,” Jon Cherry, Perpetua’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “The Stibnite Gold Project can deliver decisive wins for our communities, the environment, the economy, and (U.S.) national security.”
Source – Idaho Statesman
“The market is really trying to understand how aggressive these potential tariffs could be and I think the problem is no one really knows the answer,” said Nitesh Shah, commodity strategist at WisdomTree.
Alastair Munro, senior base metals analyst at Marex, said copper found some support from contrarian buying from some Commodity Trade Advisor (CTA) investment funds, which are largely driven by computer programs.
Source – Reuters / Live Mint
“People are well advised to know and expect that [silver] is going to be volatile,” Krauth said. “It’s going to be more volatile than gold, and if you talk about silver stocks, that’s another—you know, it’s exponentially more volatile.”
“Maybe it’s not a bad idea to wait a little bit to let things calm down.”
Source – Self Employed
Peter Krauth author of “The Great Silver Bull” and precious metals analyst.
