Germany Chancellor plans lithium deal with Serbia after Rio ruling
Olaf Scholz plans to visit Serbia this week to secure supplies of lithium that are critical for the nation’s energy transition and auto industry.
The price of December gold added $52.50 or 2.9% to trade at $1,870.30 an ounce in afternoon dealings on Thursday regaining much of the ground lost since hitting an intraday record of $1,923.10 an ounce on Tuesday.
During August the metal added 12% as investors sought a safe haven from the slumping US economy and the continuing debt crisis in Europe. The ECB on Thursday decided to keep interest rates at 1.5% and cut forecasts for growth in the euro area while in the US jobless claims came in worse than expected. Bullion was also boosted by comments from the US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke who all but confirmed a new round of stimulus will be announced at a meeting later this month.
The central bank’s chief didn’t give clues as to what method of easing saying members of the Federal Open Market Committee later this month will consider employing a range of tools “as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability,” according to MarketWatch.
Earlier in the day MarketWatch quoted a research note from Commerzbank:
“Besides the persistent debt problems in euro-zone countries and the threat of the U.S. economy sliding into recession, interest rates are set to remain at a very low level for an extended period. In our opinion, the price of gold should therefore remain well supported and it is only a matter of time before new record highs are reached.”
