Germany’s 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.
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Gold prices were weaker in early US trading Friday, dropping small pre-jobs report gains right after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced employment increased at its fastest pace in more than two years in April, beating market expectations.
Nonfarm payrolls surged 288,000 last month, the largest gain since January 2012, which exceeded Wall Street’s expectations for only a 210,000 increase.
The government said current unemployment rate of 6.3% is the lowest in over five years, hinting there will be a significant rebound in economic activity in the second quarter of 2014.
June gold was last down $4.30 at $1,279.20 an ounce. Spot gold was last quoted down $10.00 at $1,281.75. May Comex silver last traded up $0.011 at $19.00 an ounce.
This report support bearish gold traders who believe the Federal Reserve will continue on its path of tapering its monthly bond purchases. A March chart by Meridian Macro shows that gold has fallen during every Fed meeting week since June 2013. And yet Blanchard Gold investors claim that gold remains one of 2014’s top assets.
The Russia-Ukraine crisis has escalated Friday as reports said the Ukraine military is conducting major operation against pro-Russian forces to regain control of the eastern the city of Slovyansk.
So far the markets have not overreacted to this news.
