Gold heads for second weekly loss, investors eye US inflation data
Gold fell on Friday and was headed for a second weekly loss, as a slight uptick in the dollar and the Israel-Iran truce weighed on prices, with markets eyeing U.S. inflation data for clues into the Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory.
Spot gold slipped 1% to $3,292.19 per ounce as of 0402 GMT. Bullion has lost 2.2% so far this week.
U.S. gold futures fell 1.3% to $3,305.20.
The dollar rose 0.2% against its rivals, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for overseas buyers.
This week's dip is due to the Israel-Iran peace deal, said Brian Lan, managing director at GoldSilver Central, Singapore, adding that prices are consolidating with a slight downward bias and likely to stay around current levels.
Iranians and Israelis have sought to resume normal life after 12 days of the most intense confrontation ever between the two foes and a ceasefire that took effect Tuesday.
Investors are awaiting the U.S. core personal consumption expenditure data due at 1230 GMT for further insight into the Fed's monetary policy outlook, with analysts polled by Reuters forecasting a 0.1% monthly increase and a 2.6% annual rise. Markets are currently pricing in a 63-basis-point rate cut this year, starting in September.
U.S. President Donald Trump says that tame inflation means the Fed should already be reducing its policy rate, but so far only two Fed policymakers to date embracing the possibility of a rate cut at the central bank's July meeting.
Gold thrives in a low-rate environment as it is a zero-yielding asset.
"I think what could be happening is that some length is leaving gold and finding its way into other precious metals, like platinum and palladium...So maybe some speculative rotation at work," Marex analyst Edward Meir said.
Spot silver was down 0.7% at $36.38 per ounce, platinum fell 2.2% to $1,386.75, after hitting its highest level in nearly 11 years, while palladium gained 0.9% to hit its highest since October 2024 of $1,142.49. - Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Putin says Russia plans to cut military spending from next year
FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting dedicated to the foundation of cultural, educational institutions and museums via a video link at his residence outside Moscow, Russia, June 25, 2025. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS/ File Photo MOSCOW (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia was looking to cut its military expenditure from next year, contrasting that with NATO's plan to ramp up defence spending over the next decade. NATO allies on Wednesday agreed to raise their collective spending goal to 5% of gross domestic product in the next 10 years, citing what they called the long-term threat posed by Russia and the need to strengthen civil and military resilience. In his first reaction to that move, Putin told a press conference in Minsk that the NATO spending would go on "purchases from the USA and on supporting their military-industrial complex", and this was NATO's business, not Russia's. "But now here is the most important thing. We are planning to reduce defence spending. For us, next year and the year after, over the next three-year period, we are planning for this," he said. Putin said there was no final agreement yet between the defence, finance and economy ministries, "but overall, everyone is thinking in this direction. And Europe is thinking about how to increase its spending, on the contrary. So who is preparing for some kind of aggressive actions? Us or them?" Putin's comments are likely to be greeted with extreme scepticism in the West, given that Russia has massively increased defence spending since the start of the Ukraine war. The conflict shows no sign of ending and has actually intensified in recent weeks, as negotiations have made no visible progress towards a ceasefire or a permanent settlement. Putin said Russia appreciated efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump to bring an end to the war. "He recently stated that it turned out to be more difficult than it seemed from the outside. Well, that's true," Putin said. Trump said this week that he believed Putin wanted to find a way to settle the conflict, but Ukraine and many of its European allies believe the Kremlin leader has no real interest in a peace deal and is intent on capturing more territory. Putin said Russian and Ukrainian negotiators were in constant contact, and Moscow was ready to return the bodies of 3,000 more Ukrainian soldiers. ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN Russia is seeing a sharp slowdown in economic growth as the budget comes under pressure from falling energy revenues and the central bank is trying to bring down inflation. Russia hiked state spending on national defence by a quarter in 2025 to 6.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), the highest level since the Cold War. Defence spending accounts for 32% of total 2025 federal budget expenditure. Defence plants have been working round-the-clock for the past several years, and the state has spent heavily on bonuses to attract soldiers to sign up and on compensation for the families of those who are killed. Putin acknowledged that Russia had paid for the military spending increase with higher inflation. The finance ministry raised the 2025 budget deficit estimate to 1.7% of gross domestic product in April from 0.5% after reducing its energy revenues forecast by 24%, and it plans to tap into fiscal reserves this year to balance the budget. The next draft budget is due to appear in the autumn. (Additional reporting by Lucy Papachristou, Maxim Rodionov, Anastasia Teterevleva, Anastasia Lyrchikova and Elena Fabrichnaya; writing by Mark Trevelyan and Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Bezos and Sanchez to exchange wedding vows in star-studded Venice party
VENICE (Reuters) -Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez were set to exchange marriage vows at a ceremony in Venice on Friday, part of a three-day wedding extravaganza that has attracted dozens of celebrity guests but also protests by local activists. Bezos, 61, and Sanchez, 55, will exchange rings on the small island of San Giorgio, opposite St Mark's Square, accompanied by singing from Matteo Bocelli, son of the famous Italian pop-opera tenor Andrea Bocelli. The ceremony will have no legal status under Italian law, a senior city hall official told Reuters, suggesting that the couple may have already legally wed in the United States, avoiding the bureaucracy associated with an Italian marriage. The festivities, estimated to cost around $50 million, culminate on Saturday with a party in a former medieval shipyard where Lady Gaga and Elton John are reportedly set to perform. Bill Gates, Orlando Bloom, Tom Brady, the queen of Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and Kim and Khloe Kardashian as well as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner and Domenico Dolce from Dolce & Gabbana are among the 200-250 guests. Amid tight security, there have been glimpses of the celebrities moving around town, the women in summer dresses and high heels stepping somewhat gingerly off boats ferrying them around the city's canals. Celebrations began on Thursday evening in the cloisters of Madonna dell'Orto, a medieval church in the central district of Cannaregio that hosts masterpieces by 16th-century painter Tintoretto. "This magical place has gifted us unforgettable memories," the bride and groom said on their wedding invitation, in which they asked for "no gifts" and pledged charity donations for three Venetian institutions. Their donations are worth 3 million euros ($3.5 million). 'GIFT-WRAPPED' VENICE Businesses have welcomed the glitz and glamour but it is being resisted by a local protest movement whose members resent what they see as Venice being gift-wrapped for ultra-rich outsiders. Bezos is No. 4 on Forbes' billionaires list. Giulia Cacopardo, a 28-year-old representative of the "No Space for Bezos" movement, complained that the needs of ordinary people were being neglected in a city that is a tourist magnet and fast depopulating largely due to the soaring cost of living. Venice's city centre has less than 50,000 residents, compared to almost 100,000 in the late 1970s. "When you empty a city of its inhabitants, you can turn it into a stage for big events," Cacopardo told Reuters. "(But) the money that Bezos spends on this wedding does not end up in the pockets of Venetians. The owners of luxury hotels are not Venetians." Cacopardo was one of 30-40 activists who staged a protest in St Mark's Square on Thursday, chanting "We are the 99%" as a masked couple posed as bride and groom and one man climbed a pole to unfurl a banner reading "The 1% ruins the world". Police intervened, forcibly removing the protesters. The anti-Bezos front is planning a march on Saturday, and their activities have already led authorities to step up security and move the location of Saturday's party to a more secluded part of Venice, the Arsenale former shipyard. But politicians, hoteliers and other Venice residents are happy about the wedding, saying that such events do more to support the local economy than the multitudes of day-trippers who normally overrun the city. "We are happy and honoured to welcome Jeff Bezos and his consort Lauren Sanchez," said Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, who sent white roses to the bride and a maxi-bottle of Amarone luxury red wine to the groom. Italy's Tourism Ministry said it carried out a study estimating at 957 million euros ($1.12 billion) the overall economic impact of the wedding, including an 896 million euro benefit from "media visibility", and the rest coming from direct or indirect spending related to the event. Bezos, Amazon's executive chair, got engaged to Sanchez in 2023, four years after the collapse of his 25-year marriage to MacKenzie Scott. ($1 = 0.8545 euros) (Additional reporting by Yara Nardi, Ali Kucukgocmen and Cristiano CorvinoEditing by Frances Kerry)
Malaysia Sun
2 hours ago
- Malaysia Sun
Economist sees strong Chinese arrivals to sustain Malaysia's tourism growth
Xinhua 27 Jun 2025, 16:15 GMT+10 KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Despite the gloomy economic outlook, Hong Leong Investment Bank foresees that tourism strength in Malaysia remains intact, underpinned by strong Chinese tourist arrivals. The research house said in a report on Thursday that Malaysia's first-quarter tourism numbers have been strong, seeing that tourist arrivals and receipts grew by 10 percent and 24 percent year-on-year, respectively, to 6.4 million and 27.5 billion ringgit (6.5 billion U.S. dollars), while the average spending per tourist has climbed to 4,300 ringgit. "This can be attributable to the sharp spike in Chinese tourist arrivals during the first three months of the year (+27 percent year-on-year)," it noted. Tourism Malaysia has set a record tourist arrival target of 31.3 million and 125.5 billion ringgit in receipts for 2025, marking an ambitious growth aspiration of 25 percent and 23 percent year-on-year, respectively. Hong Leong highlighted that Chinese tourists tend to have a longer vacation in Malaysia and are higher spenders. The research house also gathered that Malaysia was the most visited country in Southeast Asia in the first quarter, saying that the country has benefited from being the ASEAN chairman and campaigns running up to Visit Malaysia Year 2026. For next year, Tourism Malaysia targets 35.6 million in tourist arrivals (+14 percent year-on-year) and 147.1 billion ringgit in receipts (+17 percent year-on-year). (1 ringgit equals 0.24 U.S. dollars)
