Breaking News
Investing Pro 0
💎 Access the Market Tools Trusted by Thousands of Investors Get Started

Gold rangebound ahead of Fed minutes, copper slammed by weak PMIs

Published May 23, 2023 08:19PM ET
Saved. See Saved Items.
This article has already been saved in your Saved Items
 
© Reuters.
 
XAU/USD
+0.29%
Add to/Remove from Watchlist
Add to Watchlist
Add Position

Position added successfully to:

Please name your holdings portfolio
 
Gold
+0.30%
Add to/Remove from Watchlist
Add to Watchlist
Add Position

Position added successfully to:

Please name your holdings portfolio
 
Copper
+0.73%
Add to/Remove from Watchlist
Add to Watchlist
Add Position

Position added successfully to:

Please name your holdings portfolio
 
DXY
+0.11%
Add to/Remove from Watchlist
Add to Watchlist
Add Position

Position added successfully to:

Please name your holdings portfolio
 

Investing.com -- Gold prices kept to a tight trading range on Wednesday as markets awaited some progress in negotiations over raising the U.S. debt ceiling, while copper prices hit six-month lows on signs of a slowdown in global manufacturing activity.

Focus was also chiefly on the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s May meeting, due later in the day, for more cues on the path of U.S. interest rates this year.

Gold has moved in a tight trading band of $1,950-$1,980 an ounce for nearly a week after losing the key $2,000 level, amid continued uncertainty over a U.S. debt default.

Consistent negotiations between Democrat and Republican lawmakers have so far failed to yield a deal to raise the U.S. spending limit and avoid a default. This comes ahead of a June deadline for a default, which could have dire consequences for the global economy.

Spot gold was flat at $1,975.63 an ounce, while gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,977.45 an ounce by 20:12 ET (00:12 GMT).

But the yellow metal still saw some safe haven bids as traders positioned for a slowdown in global economic activity this year. A raft of weaker-than-expected purchasing managers index readings released on Tuesday furthered this notion, battering industrial metals.

Copper prices sank to a near six-month low after preliminary manufacturing PMI readings from the U.S., euro zone, and the UK contracted more than expected in May. The readings indicated a consistent slowdown in global manufacturing activity this year, which is expected to significantly dent copper demand.

The red metal was already nursing steep losses for May after recent data showed an unexpected slowdown in Chinese manufacturing activity. China is the world’s largest copper importer, and is struggling to shore up economic growth as it reemerges from three years of COVID lockdowns.

Copper futures rose 0.2% to $3.6452 a pound on Wednesday, hovering around their lowest levels since late-November.

Broader metal markets were also pressured by a resurgence in the U.S. dollar, as traders bet that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer this year.

While the central bank has signaled a potential pause in its rate hike cycle, it is also expected to keep rates at near 15-year highs for the remainder of the year, as inflation remains sticky.

Higher interest rates pressure metal prices by increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets. This trend had battered metal prices through 2022, and is expected to keep the pressure on this year.

Gold rangebound ahead of Fed minutes, copper slammed by weak PMIs
 

Related Articles

Add a Comment

Comment Guidelines

We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:  

  •            Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.

  •           Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed. 

  •           Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.

  • Use standard writing style. Include punctuation and upper and lower cases. Comments that are written in all caps and contain excessive use of symbols will be removed.
  • NOTE: Spam and/or promotional messages and comments containing links will be removed. Phone numbers, email addresses, links to personal or business websites, Skype/Telegram/WhatsApp etc. addresses (including links to groups) will also be removed; self-promotional material or business-related solicitations or PR (ie, contact me for signals/advice etc.), and/or any other comment that contains personal contact specifcs or advertising will be removed as well. In addition, any of the above-mentioned violations may result in suspension of your account.
  • Doxxing. We do not allow any sharing of private or personal contact or other information about any individual or organization. This will result in immediate suspension of the commentor and his or her account.
  • Don’t monopolize the conversation. We appreciate passion and conviction, but we also strongly believe in giving everyone a chance to air their point of view. Therefore, in addition to civil interaction, we expect commenters to offer their opinions succinctly and thoughtfully, but not so repeatedly that others are annoyed or offended. If we receive complaints about individuals who take over a thread or forum, we reserve the right to ban them from the site, without recourse.
  • Only English comments will be allowed.
  • Any comment you publish, together with your investing.com profile, will be public on investing.com and may be indexed and available through third party search engines, such as Google.

Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.

Write your thoughts here
 
Are you sure you want to delete this chart?
 
Post
Post also to:
 
Replace the attached chart with a new chart ?
1000
Your ability to comment is currently suspended due to negative user reports. Your status will be reviewed by our moderators.
Please wait a minute before you try to comment again.
Thanks for your comment. Please note that all comments are pending until approved by our moderators. It may therefore take some time before it appears on our website.
Comments (1)
John Avenetti
John Avenetti May 24, 2023 12:08PM ET
Saved. See Saved Items.
This comment has already been saved in your Saved Items
lol. Youre such hacks. Gold has ceatered and continues too. You're worthless.
 
Are you sure you want to delete this chart?
 
Post
 
Replace the attached chart with a new chart ?
1000
Your ability to comment is currently suspended due to negative user reports. Your status will be reviewed by our moderators.
Please wait a minute before you try to comment again.
Add Chart to Comment
Confirm Block

Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?

By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.

%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List

Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.

Report this comment

I feel that this comment is:

Comment flagged

Thank You!

Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Continue with Google
or
Sign up with Email