Tiny but vital metal markets rush to adjust to Chinese clampdown
A bigger clampdown looks set to have far-reaching ramifications for supply chains feeding American defense and chip-making industries.
Gold continued to slide on Tuesday as a stronger dollar countered support from lower Treasury yields, while investors await a slew of US economic data due later this week which could sway the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rates.
Spot gold fell 0.2% to $1,985.90 per ounce by 10:45 a.m. EDT, having dropped below the key $2,000 level late last week. US gold futures were down 0.1% to $1,997.40 per ounce.
[Click here for an interactive chart of gold prices]
Meanwhile, the dollar rose 0.4% to make bullion relatively more expensive for buyers holding other currencies, while benchmark 10-year Treasury yields fell.
“The Fed would do its best to try and hold rates higher in order to quell inflation but that likely means that it might be a constraint on the economy growing as quickly,” said Everett Millman, chief market analyst at Gainesville Coins, in a Reuters note.
“No matter what decision they have to make, it’s probably going to result in some type of stress, and that looming uncertainty is certainly what gold is going to be sensitive to.”
The US consumer confidence index fell to 101.3 in April, down from 104 last month and below market expectations for 104.
The core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, the Fed’s favored inflation gauge, is due on Friday, while quarterly gross domestic product data is scheduled for Thursday.
Markets see an 84% chance of a 25-basis point rate hike at the Fed’s May 2-3 meeting, according to Reuters.
Traders also took stock of US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s warning that failure by Congress to raise the government’s debt ceiling would trigger an “economic catastrophe” that would send interest rates higher for years to come.
Elsewhere, top gold consumer China reported on Tuesday higher domestic production in the first quarter, partly spurred by higher safe-haven demand.
(With files from Reuters)
