Bullion traders navigated a heady week packed with sell-offs and profit-taking, Capitol Hill curveballs, and a barrage of sometimes conflicting financial data on housing, inventories, second-quarter GDP, and inflation that left more than a few Wall Street observers wondering which way the U.S. economy was heading. Throw in a generous dash of market uncertainty –…

Gold grabbed most of the headlines last week as the yellow metal set a new all-time high on Tuesday, shattered that record a day later, and then shed those gains to close out the series of whirlwind trading sessions. It was a different story for silver, which struggled after China – a top consumer of…

Gold hit its all-time high and appeared to head even higher Tuesday morning as an emboldened marketplace estimated the likelihood of a September interest rate cut at 100%. The yellow metal was trading at $2,458 per ounce late Tuesday morning, up $35.59 and gaining nearly 1.5% on the day so far. The figure shattered gold’s…

Last week’s surge in both gold and silver was bookended by cautious optimism from bullion traders, hoping to collect enough evidence to prove that an interest rate cut in September was all but a formality. They cherry-picked some encouraging remarks from the two-day Capitol Hill testimony of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who told federal lawmakers the…

Precious metals investors entered last week looking for the kind of spark that could lift gold and silver out of its spell of sideways, one step forward, two steps back, trading. They got an explosion. It came in a litany of reports exposing a deteriorating U.S. economy – including data showing that job creation among…

It seemed gold and silver were beginning to run out of steam around midweek, bobbing and weaving around dismal economic reports that revealed just how far new U.S. home sales plummeted in May and consumer confidence dipping last month. A much-needed jumpstart came on the heels of Thursday’s report on U.S. durable goods orders that beat Wall Street expectations and Friday’s…

Gold and silver were mixed in trading Friday morning as a key economic gauge for the Federal Reserve showed inflation cooled last month, renewing market hopes that policymakers will finally be convinced to lower interest rates later this year.  Data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, were unchanged…

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic continued Thursday to back one interest rate cut this year, saying if federal policymakers wait too long for inflation to meet their 2% target, they risk “sapping too much momentum from the economy and the labor market.” Bostic made the remarks in an essay posted to the regional bank’s website….

After dipping to a two-week trading low a day earlier, gold broke out in a big way Thursday morning after a report showing an increase in U.S. durable goods orders that beat Wall Street expectations.  Data from the Commerce Department showed that new orders for manufactured durable goods in May increased $0.3 billion – or 0.1%…

Investors will be closely watching tomorrow’s first presidential debate and Friday’s key personal consumption expenditures price index estimates for May, which are two events that could provide some early Fourth of July fireworks. Kicking off the home stretch, Democratic President Joe Biden is set to debate Republican challenger Donald Trump Thursday night, marking the start…

Gold and silver traded down Wednesday morning after a report showing that new U.S. home sales took a nosedive last month, another piece of evidence pointing to inflation’s relentless grip on the housing industry.  The figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development showed sales of new single-family houses last month at…

While the economy and labor market have shown signs of resilience, the U.S. has made only modest strides in lowering inflation this year, justifying the need to keep restrictive monetary policy in place for the time being, two Federal Reserve officials said Tuesday.  The separate speeches by Federal Governors Lisa Cook and Michelle Bowman both…

Gold and silver were down in Tuesday morning trading after a report showing that consumer confidence weakened in June, another sign pointing to the precarious nature of the U.S. economy.  The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index dipped in June to 100.4, down from 101.3 in May, as consumers’ concerns about the future persisted. Economists had projected a…

Increasing demand by investors, geopolitical tensions, central bank demand, and federal monetary policy could see gold climb to $3,000 per ounce within the next year to 18 months, according to a bullish outlook on the yellow metal by a Bank of America analyst.  The note published by Michael Widmer, a commodity strategist at the bank, lays out…

Policymakers need to consider whether the current benchmark interest rate is appropriate for an economy that is showing signs of cooling outside of inflation, a Federal Reserve official said Monday. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said in an interview that while the current restrictive monetary policy is in place to “guard against…

After a sluggish start to last week, gold and silver came out swinging after Wednesday’s Juneteenth market holiday. But the gains were short-lived. Friday’s S&P Global flash PMI composite output index – showing that U.S. business activity expanded at its fastest pace in 26 months in June – sent both commodities plummeting. Meanwhile, investors with high hopes…

Gold and silver tumbled Friday on the heels of a report showing that U.S. business activity expanded at its fastest pace in 26 months in June, signaling a strong finish to the second quarter. The S&P Global flash PMI composite output index climbed to 54.6 in June, a notch higher than May’s index of 54.5 and its…

One of the world’s largest banks is advising a cautious outlook on gold, saying “unrealized vulnerabilities” pose a threat to the yellow metal after its record run last month.  Analysts with RBC Capital Markets, part of the Royal Bank of Canada, said in a note that there are some “unrealized vulnerabilities to the pillars of gold’s rally.”…

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…

Gold and silver dipped slightly in early morning trading Monday as investors awaited critical data later this week on retail sales, new home construction, and a report card on the health of the country’s manufacturing and service sectors. With several members of the Fed also scheduled to deliver public comments later this week, Wall Street…

Gold and silver traders searched for stability last week on a stronger dollar, and the unanimous decision by the Federal Reserve to leave 23-year-high interest rates unchanged in favor of more data showing the economy was truly making a sustained effort to reach policymakers’ desired 2% inflation target. The Fed also indicated during last Wednesday’s meeting that traders…