Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Gold swung between small gains and losses, with traders assessing an increasingly uncertain outlook for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.
Bullion climbed as much as 0.4% to $2,666.89, just shy of the all-time high reached last month, before dropping slightly. Rate-cut expectations for the next Fed meeting in November have soured since the start of the month. Lower interest rates are often seen as bullish for the non-yielding precious metal.
Gold is up by more than 25% this year, with rate-cut optimism fueling recent gains. Fed officials, including influential Governor Christopher Waller, are speaking at events later on Monday.
The metal has also been supported by robust purchases by central banks as well as haven demand amid ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Money managers have meanwhile decreased net-long gold bets to an eight-week low, according to the latest Commodity Futures Trading Commission report. Exchange-traded funds also cut holdings in the last trading session, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Spot gold was down 0.3% to $2,649.10 an ounce at 3:46 p.m. in London. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose alongside platinum, while palladium and silver fell.
(By Sybilla Gross and Jack Wittels)
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