BULLION:-
Gold prices held firm on Friday, after falling nearly 1 percent in the previous session and sentiment for the yellow metal remained negative amid an outlook for rising U.S. interest rates. Federal Reserve policymakers broadly agree that U.S. interest rates should rise further this year and next, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s displeasure with such a plan, two policymakers’ comments underscored on Thursday. The Fed’s latest policy meeting minutes suggested it is on course to raise interest rates further after two hikes this year, denting demand for non-interest-yielding gold. Markets are awaiting Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments on Friday at the central bank’s annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for any change in its interest rate stance, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump’s attack on its monetary policy this week. U.S. and Chinese officials ended two days of talks on Thursday with no major breakthrough as their trade war escalated with activation of another round of tariffs on $16 billion worth of each country’s goods. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week but sales of new single-family homes unexpectedly declined in July. Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.19 percent to 767.23 tonnes on Thursday from Wednesday.
METALS:-
London copper pared previous session losses during early Asian trade on Friday, after US and Chinese officials ended two days of trade talks without any major breakthroughs. London Metal Exchange copper is on course to end the week higher, which would mark its first weekly jump since the week ended Jul. 27, as the trade talks fuelled optimism. The metal remains down 5.2 percent this month on concerns the U.S.-China trade row will hurt demand for industrial metals and is heading for its worst month since August 2016. China and the United States had a constructive and candid exchange over trade issues, the Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement on its website on Friday. Shanghai lead was the top performer in the base metals complex, rising as much as 2.3 percent to a two-week high of 18,205 yuan a tonne on concerns over tight stocks, while zinc added around 1 percent. Canadian diversified miner Teck Resources Ltd , said on Thursday that lead smelting at its Trail, British Columbia facility was suspended for a fourth day due to wildfires in the province. The global world refined copper market showed a 31,000-tonne deficit in May, compared with a 105,000-tonne deficit in April, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) said in its latest monthly bulletin. A recent Reuters survey showed analysts on average expect a copper market deficit of 129,000 tonnes this year and a shortfall of 151,000 tonnes in 2019.
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