Precious metals news

Gary Dugan, CEO of the Global CIO Office, expressed his views on various investment assets during an appearance on "Bloomberg: Markets Asia" on August 2, 2024. Dugan highlighted gold as a preferred asset, while also discussing technology stocks and bonds. His insights provide valuable perspective on current market trends and investment strategies for investors looking to navigate the financial landscape.

The US jobs report for July 2024 showed weaker-than-expected hiring and a rise in unemployment, suggesting a cooling labor market. This data has strengthened expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates soon, causing Treasury yields and the dollar to fall. As a result, gold prices surged, approaching the all-time high set last month. The precious metal's appeal as a non-interest-bearing asset typically increases when interest rates are expected to decline, explaining its strong performance in response to the jobs data.

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Gold prices have reached new record highs three times in less than three weeks, peaking at over $2,500 an ounce. December gold futures settled at $2,480.80 an ounce on Thursday, with intraday trading hitting $2,506.60. According to George Milling-Stanley of State Street Global Advisors, if the economic and political environment becomes more favorable, gold could trade between $2,500 and $2,700. Factors such as geopolitical conflicts, a weakening dollar, and potential rate cuts could drive gold to $3,000 per ounce.

As the Dow drops 900 points and the fear gauge spikes, gold emerges as a safe haven for investors.

Join Alan Hibbard on ‘UBS Trending’ as he offers his thoughts the current state of the precious metals market.

The Biden administration is advancing its new student loan forgiveness initiative by emailing 25 million borrowers this week to inform them of their potential eligibility for debt relief. This effort follows a year-long process to develop a new plan after the Supreme Court overturned Biden's initial proposal. The new program, leveraging the Higher Education Act, aims to provide relief to various borrower categories, including those with high interest rates, long-term repayment histories, and low-financial-value programs. Up to 25 million borrowers could benefit from this initiative, with the potential to increase the total number of eligible borrowers to over 30 million.

US worker productivity increased more than expected in the second quarter, rising at a 2.3% annualized rate, while unit labor costs grew at a slower 0.9% rate. This improvement in productivity, coupled with moderated labor cost growth, suggests diminishing inflationary pressures. The data provides further evidence for the Federal Reserve that the risk of inflation reacceleration is decreasing, potentially supporting the case for interest rate cuts in the near future. These trends indicate that companies are successfully managing elevated operating costs and maintaining economic growth despite high borrowing costs.

The global commodities market is experiencing significant shifts across various sectors. Canada's record maple syrup production, the start of gold mining companies' earnings season, and Germany's struggling chemicals industry are key focal points. Meanwhile, the U.S. maintains high crude oil production despite declining rig counts and leads in carbon capture technology. These developments highlight the diverse challenges and opportunities in the commodities market, from agricultural bounties to industrial struggles and technological advancements in energy and environmental sectors.

The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims rose to 249,000 for the week ending July 27, the highest in 11 months, indicating potential softening in the labor market. This increase, partly attributed to temporary motor vehicle plant shutdowns and disruptions from Hurricane Beryl, surpassed economists' expectations of 236,000 claims. Despite this rise, layoffs remain generally low, with the June layoffs rate at its lowest in over two years. A separate report showed a significant drop in planned job cuts by U.S. companies in July, though hiring plans have reached their lowest year-to-date total since 2012. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noted that these labor market changes are being closely monitored to determine if they indicate a broader trend.

Gold is showing signs of resuming its bullish trend, with potential to reach $2,500 per ounce. Silver is rebounding from support levels, with $30 as a key resistance point. Copper is finding support just above $400, with the possibility of a strong rebound or continued downtrend. All three metals are at critical junctures, with specific technical indicators and price levels to watch for confirmation of their next moves. Gold's potential to test its all-time high, silver's possible push towards $30, and copper's consolidation near $400 are key focus points for investors and traders in the precious and industrial metals markets.

VanEck's Gold Miners UCITS ETF has reached $1 billion in assets under management, reflecting strong global demand for gold amid economic uncertainties and geopolitical tensions. The ETF tracks major gold and silver mining companies, benefiting from record-high gold prices exceeding $2,300. VanEck's CEO Martijn Rozemuller notes that investors are seeking gold as a safe haven asset, while Portfolio Manager Imaru Casanova suggests gold mining stocks may outperform bullion. The ETF offers diversified exposure to the gold mining sector, with top holdings including Newmont Corporation, Agnico Eagle Mines, and Barrick Gold Corporation.

WisdomTree Shares their Silver Outlook to Q2 2025. Silver has outperformed other precious metals this year, with a 22% return compared to gold's 13%. Despite recent pullbacks in both industrial metals and gold, silver's tight supply and increasing demand suggest it could continue to rise. The World Gold Council expects silver to remain in a supply deficit, with demand outstripping supply as it did in 2023. This outlook is bolstered by silver's industrial uses and its correlation with gold, although price trends could pose some risks.

Gold prices have surged over 26% in the past year to reach $2,476 per ounce, driven by several key factors that are expected to continue supporting higher prices. According to Robin Tsui of State Street Global Advisors, four structural and cyclical factors will likely push gold prices even higher going forward. These include ongoing geopolitical tensions, central bank gold buying, expectations of interest rate cuts, and increased safe-haven demand amid economic uncertainty. While gold has already had an impressive run, these underlying drivers suggest there may be further upside potential for the precious metal in the near future.

- China experienced a significant surge in gold investment during the second quarter of 2024, with gold ETF inflows reaching a record high of 14 billion yuan ($2 billion). - Investment in gold bars and coins also increased by 62% year-on-year, marking the strongest second-quarter performance since 2013. However, gold jewelry demand hit a low not seen since 2009, impacted by rising gold prices and economic slowdown. - The World Gold Council's CEO for China expressed cautious optimism for the second half of the year, citing potential increased demand for safe-haven investments due to declining domestic interest rates and pressure on local assets.

- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled that interest rate cuts could begin as early as September, provided the U.S. economy continues on its expected path. - While keeping rates steady at 5.25%-5.50%, the Fed's statement indicated a softening stance on inflation and a more balanced view of employment risks. Powell emphasized that rate cut decisions would be based solely on economic data and progress towards the 2% inflation target, not political considerations. - This potential shift in monetary policy comes after more than two years of battling inflation and could have significant implications for the economy and the upcoming presidential election.

- Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, sparking fears of retaliation against Israel and escalating the conflict in Gaza into a broader Middle East war. - The attack, presumed to be carried out by Israel, occurred hours after Haniyeh attended Iran's presidential inauguration. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement. Haniyeh, who was based in Qatar and involved in ceasefire negotiations, was killed by a missile strike in a state guesthouse. - Gold is up above $2,450/oz as of Thursday morning

- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that the central bank is likely to cut interest rates in September, provided inflation continues to show improvement. - This decision is influenced by growing concerns about potential weakening in the labor market. While Powell expressed confidence in the Fed's readiness to reduce borrowing costs from their current two-decade high, he emphasized that any rate cut would depend on favorable economic data in the coming months. - The Federal Open Market Committee has kept the federal funds rate at 5.25% to 5.5% since July last year, balancing inflation control with labor market stability.

First Majestic and Endeavour Silver saw their shares plunge today as rising costs eroded the higher metals prices received during the quarter. First Majestic was down over 15%, while Endeavour Silver fell more than 20% after today's earnings release...

The Federal Reserve maintained its benchmark interest rate at a 23-year high of 5.25% to 5.5% but hinted at potential rate cuts in the near future. While no immediate changes were made, the Fed's statement and Chair Jerome Powell's comments suggest that recent progress in lowering inflation could pave the way for rate reductions, possibly as soon as September. The Fed is closely monitoring both inflation trends and labor market conditions to determine the timing and pace of future rate cuts.