According to Mining News Pro -
Gold price rebounds from near 11-month low as dollar retreats
Gold rebounded from last week’s 11-month low, supported by a weakening dollar as traders pare back expectations of aggressive Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes.
Prices bounced as much as 0.9% on Monday as the dollar declined for a second day, taking some of the strain off the non-interest bearing precious metal after the prospect of a super-sized rate hike helped spark a fifth straight week of losses.
Federal Reserve officials are on track to raise rates by 75 basis points for the second consecutive month when they meet later in July, after policy makers pushed back against a bigger hike. Investors reversed bets on a full percentage-point move after wary comments from officials including Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and St. Louis’s James Bullard, along with a drop in US consumer long-term inflation expectations, which eased some fears that price pressures are becoming entrenched.
Data Friday also showed US retail sales were stronger than expected in June — underscoring a resilient economy despite tightening monetary policy — while investors were also weighing China’s pledges to shore up growth. Still, the outlook for the global economy remains cloudy, with the International Monetary Fund saying it will cut its growth outlook “substantially” in its next update, as finance chiefs grapple with a shrinking list of options to address the worsening risks.
“Gold prices are seeing some slight reprieve into today’s session with a lift from the US dollar’s weakness, but prices continue to trade with a downward bias,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG Asia Pte. “We may have to see some signs of ‘peak hawkishness’ kicking in over the coming months, in order for gold to regain some market confidence.”
Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,715.30 an ounce by 10:49 a.m. in New York. Prices dipped below $1,700 last week for the first time since August. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.8% after hitting a record last week. Silver, platinum and palladium all advanced.
Copper price extends recovery on China’s efforts to tame housing woes
Copper price rose on Monday as China sought to ease concerns over financial distress facing its property sector.
Chinese regulators on Sunday urged banks to extend loans to qualified real estate projects and meet developers financing needs where reasonable, in their latest efforts to ease concerns triggered by a widening mortgage-payment boycott on unfinished houses.
A growing number of home buyers across China threatened to stop making mortgage payments for stalled property projects, aggravating a real-estate crisis that has already hit the economy.
Copper rose 4.3% to $3.37 ($7,414) a tonne on the Comex market in New York.
Click here for an interactive chart of copper prices
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. last week forecasted copper to trade at $6,700 in the next three months, a 22% downgrade from its previous outlook.
The bank said a surging dollar will remain a headwind until macroeconomic risks subside.
Iron ore price rises back above $100 as China steps in to ease property woes
Iron ore price bounced back above the $100 mark on Monday, as China sought to ease concerns over financial distress facing its property sector.
According to Fastmarkets MB, benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China were changing hands for $100.38 a tonne Monday morning, up 4.52%, rebounding from an eight-month low of $96 hit on Friday.
On China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange, the most-traded September iron ore contract ended daytime trade 2.2% higher at 679 yuan ($100.63) a tonne.
Chinese regulators on Sunday urged banks to extend loans to qualified real estate projects and meet developers financing needs where reasonable, in their latest efforts to ease concerns triggered by a widening mortgage-payment boycott on unfinished houses.
A growing number of home buyers across China threatened to stop making mortgage payments for stalled property projects, aggravating a real-estate crisis that has already hit the economy.
“The rapid escalation in mortgage repayment refusals underscores the importance of policy support to revive housing buyers’ confidence and stabilize the housing price,” J.P.Morgan analysts said in a note.
China’s property sector accounts for about a quarter of the domestic steel demand.