عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Gold Hits Record Peak, Silver Jumps

FILE PHOTO: A saleswoman picks gold necklaces to show it to a customer inside a jewelry showroom on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold buying festival, in Kochi, India, May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Sivaram V/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A saleswoman picks gold necklaces to show it to a customer inside a jewelry showroom on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold buying festival, in Kochi, India, May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Sivaram V/File Photo
TT
TT

Gold Hits Record Peak, Silver Jumps

FILE PHOTO: A saleswoman picks gold necklaces to show it to a customer inside a jewelry showroom on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold buying festival, in Kochi, India, May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Sivaram V/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A saleswoman picks gold necklaces to show it to a customer inside a jewelry showroom on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold buying festival, in Kochi, India, May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Sivaram V/File Photo

Gold prices hit an all-time high on Monday as a slowing US inflation trend boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve could deliver its first interest rate cut soon, while silver scaled a more than 11-year peak.
Spot gold was up 0.9% at $2,436.76 per ounce, as of 0340 GMT after hitting a record high of $2440.49 earlier in the session.
US gold futures rose 1% at $2,440.60, Reuters reported.
The main driver for gold is that there is a soft US dollar and sentiment is being boosted on the basis that the Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates soon, said Kyle Rodda, a financial market analyst at Capital.com. The dollar index> remained subdued, making greenback-priced bullion more attractive to buyers holding other currencies. Data last week showed signs of cooling inflation and traders now expect a 65% chance of a US rate cut by September.
Bullion is known as an inflation hedge, but higher rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.
Minutes of the Fed's last policy meeting due on Wednesday along with comments from a slew of Fed speakers will be on investors' radar for this week.
"Gold prices sneaked in a cheeky record high ahead of China's (market) open on Monday. Yet as the move has not been confirmed with by a weaker US dollar, it seems to have been caught a tailwind from higher metals futures on China's exchanges," said City Index senior analyst Matt Simpson.
China, the top consumer of bullion and a majority of industrial metals, announced "historic" steps on Friday to stabilize its crisis-hit property sector.
According to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao, spot gold may test resistance at $2,447 per ounce, a break above could trigger a gain to $2,455.
Spot silver rose 2.5% to $32.28 after hitting an over 11-year high.
Platinum rose 0.7% to $1,088.75, after hitting its highest since May 12, 2023. Palladium dropped 0.5% to $1,013.56.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)

Severe wildfire seasons are increasingly hurting western Canada's lucrative tourism industry, with some visitors beginning to avoid the busy late-summer months due to concerns about uncontrolled blazes, smoke-filled skies and road closures.

After a scorching start to July, nearly 600 wildfires are now ablaze across British Columbia and Alberta, including a huge fire that this week devastated the picturesque tourist town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies.

Dozens of communities, including popular holiday spots in British Columbia's Kootenay region, are under evacuation orders and several highways are closed.

This year's surge in wildfire activity comes after Canada endured its worst-ever year for wildfires in 2023, when more than 15 million hectares (37 million acres) burned, including parts of the city of West Kelowna in the heart of British Columbia's wine region.

Ellen Walker-Matthews, head of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, said the industry was seeing a lot more last-minute travel decisions instead of booking in advance.

"It's a huge blow. July and August are traditionally the busiest months in the region," said Walker-Matthews, adding that while her region has been relatively unscathed by wildfires this summer, some visitors are choosing to avoid interior British Columbia altogether.

The members of the British Columbia Lodging and Campgrounds Association are reporting a 5-15% drop in bookings from a year ago, with the biggest declines coming from the hotter Okanagan and Cariboo regions, said Joss Penny, who heads the association.

"The concern is that this is something we have to live with and we have it every year now," said Penny.

Although wildfires in Canada's forests are natural and common, scientists say drier, hotter conditions fueled by climate change are leading to more volatile and frequent blazes.

'SMOKEY SKIES'

Some events, like the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, usually held in August, have now been rescheduled to earlier in the summer to avoid what is now seen as peak smoke season. The festival, which was cancelled last year due to nearby wildfires, was this year moved to July to benefit from "less smokey skies."

Wildfires and extreme climatic events are prompting tourists to "change their plans not just temporarily, but permanently," said Elizabeth Halpenny, a tourism researcher and professor at the University of Alberta, noting that seasonal workers in the sector are often the hardest hit as they have few protections during a bad season or amid a cataclysmic fire.

Tourism contributed C$7.2 billion to the British Columbia economy in 2022, and C$9.9 billion to Alberta in 2023, according to the latest government data.

Jasper National Park is one of Canada's premier tourist destinations, with more than 2 million visitors a year flocking to see its pristine mountain landscapes and abundant wildlife, including grizzly bears, moose and elk.

Kelly Torrens, vice-president of product at international tour company Kensington Tours, described western Canada as a bucket-list destination. But the company now has 49 trips that were supposed to pass through Jasper this season in limbo. Six others were forced to evacuate the park when the fire hit.

Parks Canada has cancelled all camping reservations within Jasper National Park until Aug. 6 and with potentially 50% of the town's structures destroyed by fire, the cleanup and rebuild could take years.

Halpenny is among those hedging their bets.

"I've booked a campsite stay in the mountain parks but at the same time, I booked a campsite out on the prairie somewhere and that's my backup plan because I don't want to miss out on my vacation with my family."