Latest news with #BLS
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gold price today, Wednesday, July 16, 2025: Gold is steady after higher inflation report
Gold (GC=F) futures opened at $3,330.50 per ounce Wednesday, nearly flat with Tuesday's close of $3,329.80. This week, the price of gold reached a high of $3,375.50 on Monday. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% on Tuesday after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the June Consumer Price Index (CPI) report. The CPI rose 2.7% for the year ending in June, up from an annual increase of 2.4% in May. The inflation increase likely delays any rate reductions by the Fed and fuels the argument that even higher tariffs will be inflationary. An inflationary environment often reduces demand for stocks and increases demand for gold, which is considered a store of value. Learn more: Inflation accelerates in June as investors eye tariff-related price increases The opening price of gold futures on Wednesday is nearly flat with Tuesday's close of $3,329.80 per ounce. Wednesday's opening price marks a gain of 1.2% over the past week, compared to the opening price of $3,289.40 on July 9. In the past month, the gold futures price has lost 3.2% compared to the opening price of $3,442 on June 16, 2025. In the past year, gold is up 37.2% from the opening price of $2,427.40 on July 16, 2024. This marks the lowest year-over-year gain so far this summer. Don't forget you can monitor the current price of gold on Yahoo Finance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Want to learn more about the current top-performing companies in the gold industry? Explore a list of the top-performing companies in the gold industry using the Yahoo Finance Screener. You can create your own screeners with over 150 different screening criteria. As we've been saying all week, investing in gold is a four-step process, and today, we'll explore step 3, choosing a form. Once you define your target gold allocation, you must choose a form of gold to hold. Your three options are: Physical gold Gold mining stocks Gold ETFs Physical gold includes jewelry, gold bars, and gold coins. The advantages of physical gold include: Readily accessible for use. If you keep your physical gold at home, it is easily available for you to use as a medium of exchange in an economic emergency. No added volatility or ongoing fees. Gold mining stocks tend to rise and fall with gold prices, and business-related factors enhance their volatility. Gold ETFs charge administrative fees in the form of expense ratios. Learn more: Take a deeper dive into the gold sector The disadvantages of physical gold include: Risk of theft or loss. Physical gold must be properly secured. Whether you store it in your home or with a depository, gold can be stolen. Lower liquidity. Physical gold is less liquid than stocks or ETFs. If you are not using the gold as a medium of exchange, you may need to locate a dealer and pay a markup on the sale. Owning shares in gold mining stocks provides indirect gold exposure. The advantages of mining stocks over physical gold include: Greater liquidity. Large-cap gold mining stocks like Barrick Gold Corporation (GOLD) and Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV) generally enjoy a narrow bid-ask spread, which is a sign of liquidity. The bid-ask spread is the difference between what buyers will pay and what sellers will accept. Easy to store. Stocks live in your brokerage account and do not consume physical space. In normal times, this is an advantage. In an economic catastrophe, this could be a disadvantage if brokers or the stock market are temporarily shut down. Learn more: The top performing companies in the gold industry The disadvantages of owning gold mining stocks include: Greater volatility. Since 2000, gold mining stocks have risen and fallen faster than gold spot prices. And in recent years, gold mining stocks have trended down even as gold has gained value. No utility as a medium of exchange. Gold mining stocks can appreciate, but they have no direct utility as a medium of exchange. Gold ETFs are funds that invest in gold mining stocks or physical gold. Their advantages include: Easy to store. Like gold mining stocks, ETF shares are essentially digital assets with no storage requirements. Greater liquidity. Shares of the most popular gold ETFs, like SPDR Gold Shares ($GLD), are heavily traded which implies good liquidity. Tied directly to gold prices. ETFs backed by physical gold can be less volatile than gold mining stocks or gold mining ETFs. The disadvantages of gold ETFs include: Fund fees. Funds charge fees, which dilute returns over time. For context, the expense ratio of SPDR Gold Shares is 0.40%. This translates to $4 in fees annually for every $1,000 invested. No utility as a medium of exchange. As with gold mining stocks, you probably cannot use ETF shares to trade for food in an economic emergency. Whether you're tracking the price of gold since last month or last year, the price-of-gold chart below shows the precious metal's steady upward climb in value. Historically, gold has shown extended up cycles and down cycles. The precious metal was in a growth phase from 2009 to 2011. It then trended down, failing to set a new high for nine years. In those lackluster years for gold, your position will negatively impact your overall investment returns. If that feels problematic, a lower allocation percentage is more appropriate. On the other hand, you may be willing to accept gold's underperforming years so you can benefit more in the good years. In this case, you can target a higher percentage. The precious metal has been in the news lately, and many analysts are bullish on gold. In May, Goldman Sachs Research predicted gold would reach $3,700 a troy ounce by year-end 2025. That would equate to a 40% increase for the year, based on gold's January 2 opening price of $2,633. Rising demand from central banks, along with uncertainty related to changing U.S. tariff policy, are the factors driving the increase. If you are interested in learning more about gold's historical value, Yahoo Finance has been tracking the historical price of gold since 2000.
Fibre2Fashion
5 hours ago
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
CPI-U for apparel in US up 0.4% MoM in June
Pic: ACHPF / The US consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) increased by 0.3 per cent month on month (MoM) on a seasonally-adjusted basis in June this year after rising by 0.1 per cent MoM in May, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS). It increased by 2.7 per cent year on year (YoY) before seasonal adjustment after a 2.4-per cent YoY rise in May. The energy index rose by 0.9 per cent MoM in the month after falling by 1 per cent MoM in May, while it decreased by 0.8 per cent YoY. The US CPI for all urban consumers rose by 0.3 per cent month on month (MoM) on a seasonally-adjusted basis in June. It rose by 2.7 per cent YoY before seasonal adjustment in the month. The apparel index increased by 0.4 per cent MoM and fell by 0.5 per cent YoY (unadjusted) in June. The energy index rose by 0.9 per cent MoM in the month, while it decreased by 0.8 per cent YoY. The index for all items less food and energy rose by 0.2 per cent MoM and 2.9 per cent YoY in June, following a 0.1-per cent MoM increase in May. The apparel index in the country increased by 0.4 per cent MoM and fell by 0.5 per cent YoY (unadjusted) in June, a BLS release said. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Wall Street Journal
16 hours ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Labor Department Relied More on Fuzzier Price Guesses in June Inflation Data
Economists' anxiety about official U.S. inflation data is growing. One major issue: They don't have the numbers they need to understand the scope of the problem. Concerns about degraded inflation data have been swirling since June, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics confirmed that staff shortages have forced a reduction in its monthly price-gathering efforts. That admission came after The Wall Street Journal reported on how the BLS was leaning more heavily on a less-accurate method of estimating prices.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's how inflation may be hitting your summer plans — and where you can benefit from falling prices
Consumer prices are up this year, but there are a few bright spots to take advantage of in your summer plans. Consider travel. Road tripping might be a fair bit cheaper thanks to the 8.3% drop in gasoline prices from last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data out on Tuesday. Airfare is also lower, with a 3.5% decrease logged between June 2024 and June 2025. By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy Having fun at home, though, is another story. Hosting a cheap barbecue is no picnic, with beef prices sharply higher. And many things that keep children entertained — toys and playground equipment, as well as subscription services for videos and games, to name a few — are more expensive than last year. Here's where inflation may be hitting your summer plans. It's a good summer to hit the road. Summer gas prices haven't been this low in four years, AAA noted last week, with costs driven down 'due to an abundance of supply in the oil market.' As of Tuesday, gas prices nationwide averaged $3.15 a gallon, with even lower prices across parts of the Sun Belt, according to AAA. Airfare costs are also easing, down 3.5% between June 2024 and June 2025, BLS data shows. Lodging cost inflation at hotels and motels was down 3.7% in the same period, falling 3.6% from May to June. Still, the cost of eating out was up 3.8% from last June, higher than the 2.4% increase for food at home, making it worthwhile to pack a cooler or cook while on vacation. Wells Fargo's Agri-Food Institute said in a report last month that a Fourth of July party for 10 people would cost about $130 for food and beverages. That's a 2.2% increase from last year, with price hikes seen in beef, eggs, and cherry tomatoes. Chicken was a cheaper protein to offer, the report noted. Indeed, according to BLS data, uncooked ground beef prices were up by 10.3% on an annual basis in June, while chicken prices were up by 3.9% over the same period. Fish and seafood price increases were even softer, up just 0.9% on an annual basis. This may also be the summer to swap sweets for produce: Fresh fruit prices were up 3.4% in June compared to last year, while candy and gum prices were up 8.1%. Parents looking to keep kids entertained while school is out may experience some pocketbook pain. Prices for toys, games, hobbies, and playground equipment rose 1.7% annually, with a 1.2% increase from May to June, according to BLS data. The cost of musical instruments was also up 3% on an annual basis, while subscription and rental services for videos and video games rose a whopping 13.7% over the same period, putting a damper on a classic air-conditioner-friendly activity. Prices for recreational books, meanwhile, were up 3.8% from May to June, though book costs have so far decreased by 0.9% on an annual basis, BLS data shows. Some better news for athletic kids: Inflation of bicycles and other sports vehicles was 4.2% lower in June compared to the previous year. If your summer plans involve buying college textbooks to prepare for the fall, according to BLS data, prices were up 10.2% in June from a year ago. Textbook prices typically increase by an average of 6% each year, according to the Education Data Initiative. But prices on other items parents may need to purchase for their kids before school starts, like smartphones and calculators, have eased since last year. As for clothing, overall apparel prices slowed by 0.5%, with girls' apparel seeing the sharpest price drop of 2.9% in that time period. Boys' apparel, meanwhile, saw a 2.4% increase. 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
The Hill
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Hill
US egg prices fall for third straight month
The average price for a dozen eggs is now $3.77, another step down from March's record-high carton costs. The latest numbers mark the third straight month of declining egg prices for American consumers, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. The highest price — around $6.23 in March — has steadily dipped each month, with costs landing near $5.12 in April and $4.55 in May. Bird flu outbreaks in January and February caused the average price to skyrocket in March, according to the BLS. But with cases of tne avian flu more controlled, Easter demand quelled and egg imports increased, the cost of a dozen eggs have cooled off. Popular breakfast chains like Denny's and Waffle House recently removed their egg surcharges in response to the petering costs. In February, Waffle House instituted a 50-cent egg surcharge at all of its 1,900 locations because of the rising costs of eggs. Denny's surcharge varied by location. Waffle House ended its surcharge on June 2, while Denny's ended it May 21. NewsNation's Jordan Perkins contributed to this report.
