Persistent high inflation, geopolitical instability, and a desire to strategically diversify resource holdings were among the top reasons cited by central banks on why gold will continue to be a favored reserve asset in 2024 and beyond, a survey by an industry trade group found. The results of the 2024 Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey,…

Gold and silver broke out of the midweek holiday with a strong showing on Thursday after a flurry of reports on building permits, housing starts, and unemployment muted hopes the economy was finally on the backside of its inflation fight. Gold was up $33.13 at $2,362 per ounce and silver climbed $0.94 to break through…

Several Federal Reserve officials struck an optimistic tone Tuesday in the country’s protracted struggle to get a handle on inflation but warned against easing the current restrictive monetary policy too soon for fear of jeopardizing hard-won economic progress. Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin, and Boston Federal Reserve…

After a sluggish start to the week, gold was trading in positive territory early Tuesday as a report showed that U.S. retail sales rose by a modest 0.1% in May. The data released by the U.S. Census Bureau still fell short of Wall Street expectations of a 0.2% bump, an ever-present indication that inflation still…

One reduction in the benchmark interest rate would be “appropriate” by the end of the year so long as current data pointing to a slowdown in inflation holds steady, a Federal Reserve official said Monday. Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker also cautioned in a speech that the Fed was still “surrounded by an air…

U.S. small business owners continued to be less optimistic about the state of the economy in May, with many citing stubborn inflation as the reason for the negative sentiment, according to a new report released Tuesday. The findings paint a challenging – if lately familiar – backdrop going into Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting…

Through most of last week, investors seemed cautiously optimistic that the Fed would finally step in and start cutting interest rates by September – making the first of the three rate reductions it once estimated were in store for 2024. Reports released on job openings and private business payrolls had pointed to a shaky, if…

Heading into the weekend, some investors were easing on the doomscrolling because gold and silver had largely weathered a string of dismal news on a weakened labor market. Then Friday took a wrecking ball to the whole thing with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report detailing payroll additions that trounced Wall Street expectations. That data sent…

Increased signs of a cooling labor market pushed precious metals higher in Thursday trading as a week of disappointing economic data continued, putting even more pressure on federal monetary officials to address the slide when they meet next week. Gold was up nearly $23 at $2,377 per ounce and silver was trading $1.17 higher at…