Column: Trump 2.0 won’t reverse Biden’s critical minerals push
Donald Trump has described the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as a "green scam" and vowed to repeal it after he returns to the White House in January.
Gold held a three-week low, as speculation the Federal Reserve will keep aggressively tightening monetary policy and potentially trigger a recession had investors again seeking shelter in the US dollar.
Renewed strength in the greenback has now seen bullion tumble more than 20% since a March peak. The non-yielding metal, which typically has a negative correlation with the dollar and rates, has been pressured by the stronger US currency.
On Wednesday, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said the US central bank couldn’t pause its tightening campaign once its benchmark rate hits 4.5% to 4.75% if “underlying” inflation was still accelerating. That led to a rally in the US dollar and higher bond yields.
“Hawkish comments from Fed officials continue to rattle precious metals as bankers keep up the rhetoric on the need for higher rates to curb inflation,” Avtar Sandu, senior manager of commodities at Phillip Nova, said in a note. Higher yields have not been encouraging for gold prices, he added.
Inflation woes go beyond the US, as shown on Wednesday by CPI gauges from Canada and the UK, which both came in higher than predicted.
Gold climbed 0.2% to $1,632.23 an ounce at 12:53 p.m. in Singapore, after closing 1.4% lower in the previous session. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed, following a 0.6% gain on Wednesday. Silver and platinum were steady, while palladium declined.
(By Swansy Afonso)
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