Commodities
Gold prices rise as geopolitics, Wall St losses fuel haven demand

Investing.com– Gold prices rose in Asian trade on Tuesday, extending recent gains as heightened geopolitical tensions in Syria and a selloff on Wall Street fueled safe haven demand for the yellow metal.
Among industrial metals, copper prices steadied on Tuesday after clocking sharp gains on promises of more stimulus measures from top importer China. But they were still nursing steep losses in the past two months.
Further gains in metal markets were quashed by anticipation of more key economic cues in the coming days, with the U.S. dollar steady ahead of key inflation data due on Wednesday.
rose 0.4% to $2,671.62 an ounce, while expiring in February rose 0.3% to $2,694.69 an ounce by 23:30 ET (04:30 GMT).
Gold demand underpinned by geopolitical tensions
Spot gold surged about 1% on Monday after heightened tensions in the Middle East sent traders into safe havens.
Rebel forces took Syria’s capital Damascus over the weekend, ending the reign of President Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Russia.
Syria’s regime change has ties to the Sunni Islamic sect, potentially putting the country at odds with Iran. Israel was also seen launching an offensive against Syria.
Syria’s situation put investors on edge over a potential escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, pushing them into traditional safe havens such as gold.
This trend was furthered by overnight losses on Wall Street, as major technology stocks pulled back sharply from a recent rally.
Anticipation of several key economic cues in the coming days are expected to keep investors on edge. Central banks in Canada, the European Union and Switzerland will decide on interest rates this week, followed by the Federal Reserve next week.
Other precious metals were less upbeat than gold. fell 0.4% to $944.85 an ounce, while steadied at $32.620 an ounce.
Copper steadies from stimulus-driven rally; China import data positive
Benchmark on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.3% to $9,211.0 a ton, while February fell 0.2% to $4.2542 a pound.
Both contracts rallied 1.5% on Monday after China’s top political body pledged to loosen monetary policy and dole out more targeted stimulus measures. The pledges ramped up hopes that economic growth in China will improve, in turn boosting its appetite for commodities.
Chinese trade data also offered some positive cues. While overall and read weaker than expected for November, China’s copper imports raced to a one-month high.
Focus this week is now on China’s Central Economic Work Conference, which is set to begin on Wednesday.
Commodities
Copper prices dip over 1% following Federal Reserve’s fewer rate cuts signal

Investing.com — Copper prices are down more than 1% after the Federal Reserve hinted at fewer rate cuts for the upcoming year.
The shift to a more hawkish stance by the Fed has resulted in an increase in bond yields, a surge in the strength of the dollar to 25-month highs, and a spike in volatility. This shift has also led to a sharp decline in key commodity currencies.
Market participants have expressed concern that there isn’t much on the annual calendar to halt this downward trend. The three-month London Metal Exchange (LME) contract has registered a 1.5% decrease, trading at $8,912 a ton.
In addition to the Federal Reserve’s stance, looming U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods and uncertainties surrounding China’s domestic demand outlook continue to pressure the market.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.
Commodities
Gold prices rebound from Fed-driven rout, hawkish comments cloud outlook

Investing.com– Gold prices rebounded from a one-month low on Thursday as the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates as expected, although the central bank’s hawkish stance on future rate cuts clouded the outlook for bullion.
Gold prices had dropped more than 2% overnight after the Fed’s policy meeting indicated fewer rate cuts in 2025, as sticky inflation remained a major concern.
jumped as much as 1.3% to $2,618.11, while expiring in February dropped 1.2% to $2,620.79 an ounce by 22:51 ET (03:51 GMT).
Spot gold rebounds, but outlook dim amid slower rate cuts
The Fed reduced by 25 basis points but signaled it will adopt a slower pace for future cuts.
Lower interest rates bode well for gold prices as the opportunity cost of holding gold decreases, making it more attractive compared to interest-bearing assets like bonds.
However, gold futures fell sharply as the rates are expected to remain higher for a longer period after Wednesday’s cut. Markets have ruled out chances of a cut in January and now expect just two more cuts in 2025, against their earlier expectations of four.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said further reductions depend on progress in curbing persistent inflation, reflecting policymakers’ adjustments to potential economic shifts under the incoming Donald Trump administration.
The Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance was aimed at curbing inflation, but it also signals confidence in the resilience of the U.S. economy. This risk-on sentiment can reduce the demand for safe-haven assets, further dampening bullion’s prospects.
With fewer cuts expected in 2025, the is expected to strengthen further. The greenback surged to an over two-year high on Wednesday.
Additionally, the maintained its interest rates on Thursday, as policymakers remained cautious over Japan’s economic outlook and the path of inflation.
Among other precious metals, rose 0.7% to $928.90 an ounce, while slumped 2.7% to $29.922 an ounce.
Copper falls on as dollar hits 2-yr high
Among industrial metals, copper prices extended declines on Thursday after the Fed’s hawkish stance bolstered the dollar. The red metal took limited support from reports of more fiscal spending in top importer China over the coming year.
The rose 0.1% in Asian trade on Thursday and was at an over two-year high after the Fed meeting.
Benchmark on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.4% to $8,921.50 a ton, while one-month were largely unchanged at $4.089 a pound.
Commodities
Oil slips on demand concerns after Fed signals slower rate cuts

By Colleen Howe, Trixie Yap and Anna Hirtenstein
(Reuters) -Oil prices fell on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled it would slow the pace of interest rate cuts in 2025, which could hurt economic growth, reduce fuel demand and strengthen the dollar.
futures declined by 29 cents to $73.10 a barrel by 1249 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 16 cents to $70.42.
The declines gave back Wednesday’s gains on a drop in stocks and the Fed’s expected rate cut of 25 basis points.
Prices weakened after U.S. central bankers issued projections pointing to two quarter-point cuts in 2025 on concern over rising inflation. That was half a point less than they had flagged in September.
“The bottom line for oil is the longer the Fed stays on pause, the stronger the U.S. dollar. This tends to generate headwinds for commodities like oil,” said Harry Tchilinguirian at Onyx Capital Group.
A stronger dollar makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive while higher interest rates weigh on economic growth, potentially reducing demand for oil.
Chinese refining giant Sinopec (OTC:), meanwhile, expects China’s oil consumption to peak by 2027, it said on Thursday.
“The demand-supply balance going into 2025 continues to look unfavourable and predictions of more than 1.0 million bpd demand growth in 2025 look stretched in our opinion. Even if OPEC+ continues to withhold production, the market may still be in surplus,” said Suvro Sarkar, DBS Bank energy sector team leader.
Though demand in the first half of December rose year on year, volumes remained lower than expected by some analysts.
JP Morgan analysts said that global oil demand growth for December so far was 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) less than it had expected, adding that global demand this year has risen by 200,000 bpd less than it had forecast in November 2023.
Official data from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed U.S. crude stocks fell by 934,000 barrels in the week to Dec. 13. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a drawdown of 1.6 million barrels. [EIA/S]
While the decline was less than expected, the market found support from last week’s rise in U.S. crude exports by 1.8 million bpd to 4.89 million bpd.
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