Following two days of increases, gold prices leveled out in
Asian trade on Thursday as some demand for safe haven assets was spurred by
increased uncertainty surrounding a hawkish Federal Reserve and President-elect
Donald Trump's proposed trade tariffs.
Copper prices among industrial metals increased as
speculation about additional stimulus measures from Beijing was stoked by poor
inflation statistics from China, the country's largest importer.
However, the dollar's strength, which returned to levels
above two-year highs due to hawkish Fed indications, continued to put pressure
on metal markets.
By 00:11 ET (05:11 GMT), gold futures expiring in February increased 0.2% to
$2,678.60 an ounce, while spot gold dropped 0.1% to $2,660.36 an ounce.
Gold sees some safe haven demand on economic uncertainty
This week, as uncertainty over Trump's immigration and trade
policies dampened risk appetite, there was some demand for safe haven gold,
which helped to boost prices.
According to a CNN story, Trump may legally defend his plans to impose global
trade tariffs by claiming a national economic emergency.
The Fed's December meeting minutes revealed that
policymakers were voicing some concerns about sticky inflation, which further
heightened fears about Trump's agenda.
In particular, Fed policymakers were becoming increasingly worried that Trump's
protectionist and expansionary policies might eventually fuel inflation.
Following the Fed's effective halving of its anticipated
rate cuts to two from four in 2025, the minutes also mainly restated the Fed's
intentions to drop interest rates more gradually in that year.
Following the Fed's minutes, the dollar and Treasury rates
both skyrocketed.
Since higher rates raise the opportunity cost of investing in the industry,
they are bad news for non-yielding assets like metals.
Thursday saw mixed results for other precious metals, which
have trailed gold in recent sessions. Silver prices increased 0.3% to $30.785
an ounce, while platinum futures dropped 0.1% to $983.75 an ounce.
Copper rises as weak China inflation fuels stimulus hopes
March copper futures increased 0.6% to $4.2927 a pound,
while benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange increased 0.4% to
$9,053.50 a ton.
While producer price index inflation decreased for the 27th
straight month in December, Chinese consumer price index inflation remained
unchanged, suggesting that disinflation has not significantly improved.
Even as Beijing implemented its most aggressive stimulus
package through late 2024, inflation remained low.
However, the inflation figures released on Thursday stoked fresh speculation
that Beijing will take further steps to support Chinese growth, particularly in
the area of the economy.
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