Gold News

China is reporting growth of 6.8% for the first quarter of 2018 according to their National Statistics Office. Strong consumer demand combined with government infrastructure spending programs has been cited as the reason for the economic surge, though rising debt levels a cooling housing market, and the US/China trade war remain a concern.

The Chinese government predicted 6.5% growth, so on paper surpassing this total can be seen as a good thing, but traditionally China has had very steady and perhaps even polished economic figures, arguably done to seem a little more appealing.

Pound Sterling has reached a 22-month high this morning against the US Dollar, climbing 0.2% to hit $1.437 during early morning trading. This new high follows seven days of consecutive gains for the Pound against the Dollar and puts the Pound 15% higher in value than this time last year.

The Pound has since fallen back the 0.2% to $1.432 but is still up 6% since the start of 2018, with Dutch bank ING calling Sterling the “darling currency of the world” as the Pound continues to exceed expectations.

As world leaders threaten missile strikes against Syria, are we looking at a repeat of the Iraq War in 2003 or, with Russia backing President Assad, is this a military intervention the West simply can’t risk?

The price of an ounce of palladium has risen by more than 5% in the past week following US sanctions against Russia and one of the leading palladium producers in the world, and there are now fears that supply could be hit as the US/China trade war escalates.

The United States will reach an annual budget deficit of $1 trillion by 2020, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office. The non-partisan organisation produces annual reports on the state of the US economy and forecasts for the future but re-released updated predictions to account for the $1.3 trillion government spending bill and the $1.5 trillion tax cuts approved by the Trump administration last year.

Sales of gold jewellery in Dubai have fallen by 40-50% in the first quarter of 2018 following the introduction of 5% VAT as of January 1^st. 14.5 metric tons of gold was sold in Q1 of 2017, down now to around 8 metric tons for the same period.

The US Mint has reported significantly poorer sales figures for March 2018 compared to previous months and the same time last year. Gold Eagles had their worst month ever, selling 3,500 ounces compared to 5,500 in February and down from March 2017’s sales figure of 6,415 ounces.

Silver has behaved equally as bad for the US Mint, with the lowest sale figures since 2007. March 2017 saw the Mint sell 1.6 million Silver Eagles to authorised purchasers and wholesalers, but they only managed 915,000 last month – a 43% drop in sales one year on and a 2.9% drop from this February.

The amount of platinum that buys an ounce of gold has reached a new peak level. The previous peak of 1.42 occurred in September last year, indicative of platinum’s decline in popularity, but now there is a new peak of 1.46 ounces of platinum per ounce of gold.

A Swedish-owned mining firm has finally secured financial backing to begin mining silver and other precious metals, such as gold, zinc, and lead, in eastern Finland, with development work to begin this year and initial production to come in Q1 2019.

The company announced at the end of March that it had raised €46 million to fund the project.

Global stock markets continue to suffer as China begins to ramp up its retaliation against trade tariffs imposed by the United States. The Chinese government has imposed a 25% tax on 106 US goods, including soybeans and pork.

Since opening today the FTSE 100 is down 0.47% – a 33.30 points drop since opening. In America, the S&P 500 Index lost 2.2%, while the Dow Jones dropped by 1.9%. Over in Asia and Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.45% down in value (less than the initial 1.5% drop), while the Shanghai Composite ended even lower at 0.84%.

The Bank of England has voted not to raise interest rates following their latest review meeting. The decision was announced at 12 noon today, with the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voting 7-2 against a rise at present.

In response to the decision the value of the Pound Sterling rose to €1.15 and a one-month high of $1.42, with some investors reassured by the votes in favour of a rise from Ian McCafferty and Michael Saunders, while the FTSE 100 continued its fall below 7000 points suggesting that not everybody was convinced of the strengths of Sterling in the face of global trade tariff wars.

Gold prices fell sharply on Monday to a low of £932.03 per ounce as the government announced a Brexit deal with the EU was agreed in principal. Stirling rose by 1% in value, with confidence coming from the progress in talks and expectations of an interest rate rise coming from the Bank of England’s meeting this Thursday.

A Russian cargo plane taking off from Yakutsk Airport in Siberia was forced to emergency land after part of its 9.3 tonne load of gold shifted in the cargo hold, smashing a door hatch and littering the runway with nearly 200 gold bars.

Zimbabwe’s new president Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared the southern African nation “open for business” as his government rolled back previously prohibitive laws this week in an attempt to stimulate the country’s economy and counter crippling levels of hyperinflation.

The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act was introduced by former president Robert Mugabe, in an attempt to increase black Zimbabweans’ stake in the mining sector. The change to the law sees diamond and platinum mining kept under the old rules, but opens up gold, silver, and other metals and minerals to foreign investment.

The value of the US Dollar dropped slightly in the past 24 hours after President Trump fired Rex Tillerson from his position as Secretary of State, replacing him with Mike Pompeo, the CIA Director.

The US Dollar Index fell 0.24% initially, recovering slightly to a 0.18% drop, which equates to millions of dollars in value lost from across the markets. Gold prices perked up slightly, touching $1331 before falling back to $1325 per ounce.

Chancellor Philip Hammond gave his Spring Statement yesterday afternoon in the House of Commons, with the mini-budget speech highlighting a reduction in national debt and suggesting government spending would increase later in the year as a result.

His appearance at 12:30pm in the Commons saw the Chancellor speak for 26 minutes about the economic outlook for the United Kingdom for 2018 and beyond. Mr Hammond said there was “light at the end of the tunnel” as debt was expected to fall as a percentage of gross domestic product for 2018-19.

The price of the Euro against the Dollar has fallen from $1.25 to $1.23 in the last few days, with analysts expecting the Euro to continue its devaluation. The US government’s campaign to promote a weak Dollar as a way of rebalancing their trade deficit, coupled with a large infrastructure project generating inflation, has resulted in an artificial boost over the last 14 months to both the Euro and the Pound off the back of this weakness.

The key point to note here is that it’s an artificial boost; this isn’t inherent strength from the Euro, it’s market opportunism. The latest decline in Euro value against the Dollar is a sign of its instabilities returning and while it might appear a small amount, it could be the sign of things to come.

February was a static month for gold and silver prices, with the price in ounces only slightly moving either way throughout the shortest month of the year. Prices were boosted by the struggling US Dollar and the continued Brexit Effect on the Pound, as well as elections in Germany and Italy destabilising the Euro, but looming interest rate rises reigned in any attempt by bullion to pull away with a price rise.

The cost of silver is low, and the gold to silver ratio is at its widest gap for a decade. The last time the markets reached a gap this wide silver subsequently skyrocketed in both demand and price. Given that the industry demand is there and it’s only going to increase, surely now is the best time to buy silver?

Up in the Scottish hills near the idyllic village of Tyndrum is a deposit of gold worth over £200 million according to prospective miners Scotgold. Research performed in 2012 and again in 2015 estimates around five tonnes of gold is lying in wait, and now the company has been granted permission to begin their mining operation.

The Cononish Mine sits south-west of Tyndrum and has been closed since the 1980s. It is located on the northern side of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, with many prominent walking routes and ...