Sodium-ion battery startup Peak sparks lithium alternative
Peak Energy received $55 million in funding to scale up production of sodium-ion batteries that the company is positioning as an alternative to the widely used lithium-ion technology.
Gold bars continue to be one of the hottest items at Costco ahead of the holiday season.
This week, the US retail warehousing giant revealed that it sold $100 million worth of the yellow metal during the first fiscal quarter.
In an earnings call on Thursday, Costco CFO Richard Galanti confirmed to analysts that bullion is definitely on the menu for its customers. “They’re buying gold,” he said when asked about consumer trends from the latest quarter.
This echoes what Galanti had said back in September — that the company’s inventory of PAMP Suisse gold bars tends to sell out “within a few hours” of the products being listed online.
As of Friday, Costco’s website shows that the 1 oz. bars containing 24kt of yellow gold are being sold for C$2,829.99 (~$2116.59) in Canada. On the US website, the product appears to be unavailable.
Gold enthusiasts on Reddit said the bars were going for slightly more than $2,000 as recently as last week.
The products are limited to two per Costco membership, which would make it very difficult to build a real position to profit off bullion’s rising value. Spot gold has jumped by about 12% so far this year.
JPMorgan is forecasting a breakout rally for the precious metal in 2024, with a peak of $2,300 an ounce as the Federal Reserve begins cutting interest rates, according to the bank’s commodities outlook.
