Latest news with #gold
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nasdaq Hits Record While Bitcoin, Gold Remain Under Pressure After Latest Macro Data
Bitcoin BTC continues to consolidate in the $102,000 to $108,000 range and gold is lower by 2% today and roughly 7% from its record high. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 has reached new all-time highs. A couple of U.S. macroeconomic data points Friday morning — though nearly two months old at this point — might have added to the modestly negative tone for BTC and gold. Personal income in May came in at -0.4%, falling short of the expected increase of 0.3%. Personal spending month over month printed at -0.1%, missing the forecast of a 0.1% increase. Maybe of more import to markets, the core PCE price index in the US, which excludes volatile food and energy prices and is the Federal Reserve's chosen gauge of underlying inflation, rose by 0.2% in May compared to expectations of a 0.1% increase. On a year-over-year basis, core PCE prices rose 2.7% versus 2.6% expected. This data further supports the view that the economy may be heading toward stagflation. Noted goldbug and no-coiner Peter Schiff: "Traders continue to sell gold even as this morning's release of weak economic data and stronger-than-expected inflation data pushed the dollar index to new lows. Stagflation and a tanking dollar are bullish for gold, regardless of any superficial trade deals 'negotiated' by Trump." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Europe's Time Is Now (for Stablecoins)
Trump has come into office with a wrecking ball – and his acts of unpredictability, both domestically and abroad, have only hampered the dollar's status as the choice reserve currency. In the crypto world, this only means one thing – USD-pegged stablecoins will wane in dominance, leaving a vacuum for other currencies to pounce. And of them, it might just be the rapidly growing EUR coins that muscle up the hardest. Let's take a step back. Since Trump's inauguration, the dollar has fallen to a three-year low against a basket of major currencies, declining by approximately 5% over roughly the last six months. A combination of whimsical trade policy, feckless fiscal bets, and, overall, international antagonism have beleaguered the U.S. market, damning its equities, raising its Treasury yields, and taking an axe to the dollar. The U.S.'s prominence as the strongest and most stable economy has been tested. And we've even seen an 'Anywhere, but the USA' trade come to light as a result. With the U.S. economy and markets so volatile, investors have – as usual – fled to safe-haven assets like gold to mitigate any losses. But surprisingly, the euro has also risen up the ranks: according to a recent report by Reuters, central bankers across the globe are now looking at gold, the renminbi, and the euro as choice reserve assets. The world is diversifying away from the dollar – and that'll be sure to reflect in DeFi. Of course, that being said, I'm not talking about a full-fledged overtake here. In the stablecoin world, USD is very much king. Tether dominates nearly 70% of the market, and we've even seen Circle make headlines for securing a $5.4 billion IPO. But as the dollar wanes – especially to the point it makes losses against emerging markets and the G10 – I just think the market will broaden out. USD monopolies might not be as strong. Currently, there are 12 prominent euro-pegged stablecoins and 56 USD counterparts – a huge difference. But as the euro makes up its losses and gains further strength, who's to say these coins won't compete? With enthusiastic fiscal policy, stronger defence spending, and, of course, the momentum of capital flow, the euro has climbed to near pivotal $1.20. And if Trump continues on his current path, I expect this will only climb further. It's not just a trend of de-dollarization to factor in, either. The E.U. has become increasingly open to crypto, this year cementing the final provisions of the MiCA framework – giving crypto issuers the ability to attain licences and establish themselves in the regulated European market. Tether is not compliant with MiCA, giving alternative coins – including EUR-pegged ones, such as EURC – an opportunity to strengthen their regional market share. By way of that, the E.U. has subsequently adopted a more favorable and supportive stance toward crypto issuers. OKX, Coinbase, and soon perhaps even Gemini are all crypto issuers and exchanges with or about to receive EU approval. Forget Trump's vows to make the U.S. the 'crypto capital of the planet.' The EU is fast catching up. Europe is no longer the anti-innovation, bureaucratic monster it once was. It has palmed off its past scepticism, opened its doors to digital assets, and beyond that, as per Christine Lagarde, is ambitious enough to be pushing for its 'global euro moment.' It is truly capitalizing on the misfortunes of Uncle Sam, and I see no plausible reason as to how this won't reflect in the stablecoin market. I understand the attitude toward stablecoins is still mixed. The Bank of International Settlements has recently cast them off as a 'financial stability risk.' Even so, the global market cap of the broader ecosystem recently peaked at over $250 billion. The size, popularity, and appeal of the market cannot be denied. And they're certainly more practical than tokenised currencies, as BIS' Project Agora is attempting to push forward. As such, I don't see the stablecoin market contracting any time soon. And as long as Trump continues his heavy-handed approach and Europe capitalises on the fallout, I can only see issuers veering closer and closer to EUR-based coins. Complete de-dollarisation is far from realistic, but as long as the euro remains on its upward trajectory, so will investments into and transactions via the continent and its currency. By 2028 – and by that, I mean the end of Trump's term – I predict we'll see more EUR-pegged stablecoins come to the surface, and so much so that they'll even threaten their American counterparts. Recession risks, bear market risks, and, overall, a lack of investor confidence have taken the dollar into the doldrums. Europe's time is now.
CTV News
14 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Gold prices to grow further against a weak U.S. dollar, diversification of assets: analyst
As the price of gold rallied significantly this year, an analyst predicts the precious metal will grow even further as the U.S. dollar weakens on the global market. John Zechner, chairman of J. Zechner Associates says central banks in China, India and Japan are diversifying assets away from U.S. reserve holdings towards the rich commodity, which will likely contribute to continued price growth. He says countries have been turning away from the commodity because of global trade tensions and geopolitical risks from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs war. 'It has now surpassed the Euro as the second biggest holding, next to the U.S. dollar,' Zechner told BNN Bloomberg in a Thursday interview. 'Given what's going on the U.S., I can only see that going further.' The price of gold floated around US$3,330 due to the de-escalation of the Israel and Iran conflict. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar plummeted to a three-year low as expectations from the Federal Reserve eased amidst speculation that Trump may nominate a new chief who is more likely to cut interest rates , according to Reuters. Lower interest rates tend to depress a currency. Investors have flocked to gold in recent months viewing the commodity as a safe haven, according to a commodity strategist with TD Securities. 'I think these central banks are massive buyers,' said Zechner. 'That will continue. They have to diversify their currency holdings, probably out of fiat currencies in general.'Zechner does, however, say countries might consider adopting cryptocurrencies.' I have yet to see a major central bank, or even a mid-level central bank, start to embrace Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies in general,' said Zechner. 'In the meantime, they can buy gold. I think they will continue to do it.' Torex Gold Resources (TXG TSX) Zechner favours Torex Gold Resources, a Canadian intermediate gold producer engaged in mining, developing and exploring in Mexico. The company has been extracting the commodity at a 29,000-hectare property. The company's stock is hovering around $42, up 109.8 per cent from last year. He said the company has made strategic moves operating undergrounds mines El Limon and Media Luna extending their reserves and improving their financial position. 'We've held it for a while now,' said Zechner. 'They started to do really well in the past year in the big Morales property in Mexico. They had the largest single mine there, and the El Limon mine. The problem was, it got a low valuation, because they're running out of the existing open pit. It's running down. They're going to have to sort of roll it off. People were not paying much for future growth but on that same property to the south of it, they had a property called Media Luna. They've been able to bring the Media Luna online to replace this almost seamlessly in the past year, right on budget and right on time. It is almost unheard of. At the same time, you've gone underground at a El Limon as well as Media Luna. That's going to extend the reserves a little bit further.' Reyna Silver, an exploration and development company focused on exploring high-grade, district-scale silver deposits in Mexico and the United States recently announced acquisition by Torex Gold and Concurrent Financing.
Zawya
18 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Safe-haven gold near a one-month low as global tensions ebb
* zzSpot gold down over 2% for the weekGold fell more than 1% to its lowest level in nearly a month on Friday due to easing geopolitical and trade tensions and as investors awaited U.S. inflation data for clues on the future trajectory of interest rates. Spot gold lost 1.4% to $3,282.68 per ounce by 1055 GMT, its lowest since late May. Prices have fallen by over 2% this week and more than $200 from a record high scaled in April. U.S. gold futures fell 1.6% to $3,294.50. The Iran-Israel ceasefire, brokered earlier this week by U.S. President Donald Trump, is holding for now. A White House official said on Thursday that the U.S. has reached an agreement with China on how to expedite rare earths shipments to the U.S. July 9 is the deadline for Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs as nations rush to get an agreement. "The loss of haven demand has meant that despite the latest leg down in the dollar, gold has not benefited from this at all," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and "A bit of a pullback would not be too bad an outcome as that will allow long-term technical overbought conditions on higher time frames to work off, allowing the metal to shine again when macro conditions are more favourable once more." The immediate focus is the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditure data, an inflation gauge, scheduled for release at 1230 GMT. Fed Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said tariffs are very likely to push inflation up over the coming months. Despite its reputation as a hedge against inflation and uncertainty, zero-yield bullion loses appeal in a high interest rate environment. Spot silver fell 1.8% to $35.96. Platinum dropped 5.9% to $1,334.63, after hitting its highest since 2014. Palladium fell 1.2% to $1,117.96. The main reason for the price increase in platinum was likely to be the high discount to gold, which is apparently considered too expensive, said Commerzbank in a note. (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; editing by Barbara Lewis and David Evans)
Bloomberg
18 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Gabon, Afreximbank Sign $3.8 Billion Accord on Manganese, Gold
Gabon's government signed a $3.8 billion memorandum of understanding with the African Export-Import Bank to fund the development of manganese, gold trading, energy and rail infrastructure. The central African nation is the world's second-biggest producer of manganese, a mineral that's used to harden steel produced for construction, and one of the smallest members of OPEC+, pumping 220,000 barrels of crude per day. The agreement was signed at Afreximbank's annual general meeting in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, on Friday.
