عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Gold Falls as Mideast Conflict Dims Easing Inflation Hopes

Gold jewelry being prepared before melting to produce gold bars at the Austrian gold and silver refinery 'Oegussa' in Vienna (AFP)
Gold jewelry being prepared before melting to produce gold bars at the Austrian gold and silver refinery 'Oegussa' in Vienna (AFP)
TT
TT

Gold Falls as Mideast Conflict Dims Easing Inflation Hopes

Gold jewelry being prepared before melting to produce gold bars at the Austrian gold and silver refinery 'Oegussa' in Vienna (AFP)
Gold jewelry being prepared before melting to produce gold bars at the Austrian gold and silver refinery 'Oegussa' in Vienna (AFP)

Gold fell on Thursday as an escalating Middle East conflict fueled concerns that the US Federal Reserve could hike interest rates this year, overshadowing recent optimism over easing inflation.

Spot gold was down 0.8% at $4,029.29 per ounce by 0518 GMT. US gold futures for August delivery lost 0.4% to $4,034.40, Reuters said.

"June's inflation figures did not reflect the impact of the latest escalation ‌in the US-Iran ‌conflict, as the interim peace union reached ‌last ⁠month has effectively ⁠unraveled," said Jigar Trivedi, a senior research analyst at IndusInd Securities.

The US launched two waves of attacks on Iran's coastal defenses and missile sites on Wednesday after reimposing a naval blockade of its ports, while Iran struck back by targeting US military sites in neighboring countries in what it called an "existential war" ⁠with America.

Oil prices have risen 11% so ‌far this week, stoking concerns about ‌inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates. While gold is traditionally seen as an ‌inflation hedge, it loses its appeal in a high interest ‌rate environment.

US consumer and producer inflation slowed in June, amid a pullback in the cost of energy products, reinforcing evidence that inflation was subsiding before the recent escalation in the Middle East conflict.

The moderation ‌in inflation was, however, not enough to convince financial markets to rule out a Fed ⁠rate hike ⁠this year.

Traders are still pricing in bout a 73% chance of a December Fed hike, CME FedWatch Tool's data showed.

Fed Governor Lisa Cook said on Wednesday she is "prepared to act" if inflation does not soon begin to slow. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh also declared his determination to bring inflation down without hinting at how.

Investors are now looking out for remarks from Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan and Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson, due to speak later in the day.

Elsewhere, spot silver fell 1.2% to $57.07 per ounce. Platinum eased 0.6% to $1,664.75 and palladium edged 0.4% lower to $1,308.49.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

US Unveils New 25% Tariff on Certain Imports from Brazil

Tourists visit the Ponte de Saudade at Jose Bonifacio Beach on Paqueta Island, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, on July 11, 2026. (Photo by Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP)
Tourists visit the Ponte de Saudade at Jose Bonifacio Beach on Paqueta Island, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, on July 11, 2026. (Photo by Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP)
TT
TT

US Unveils New 25% Tariff on Certain Imports from Brazil

Tourists visit the Ponte de Saudade at Jose Bonifacio Beach on Paqueta Island, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, on July 11, 2026. (Photo by Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP)
Tourists visit the Ponte de Saudade at Jose Bonifacio Beach on Paqueta Island, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, on July 11, 2026. (Photo by Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP)

The United States announced on Wednesday a new tariff on various imports from Brazil, following a year-long investigation into the Latin American giant's trade and other policies.

The 25 percent tariff is set to take effect on July 22, as the Trump administration seeks to rebuild its tariff agenda following legal setbacks.

A range of products including beef, coffee and certain aircraft parts will be exempted, a senior US official told reporters.

The exclusions also cover certain goods that the United States does not produce.
Brazil condemned the tariffs on Thursday, promising that "reciprocal" measures would be taken.

"There is no justification for unilateral measures against our country," President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's office said in a statement on X.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Brazil's "unreasonable acts, policies, and practices" have hurt US commerce by unfairly benefitting Brazilian producers and "restricting access to one of the world's top export markets."

"We remain open to continuing negotiations with Brazil to bring about long-needed changes to the problems identified in this investigation," AFP quoted Greer as saying in a statement.
In earlier findings, the US investigation deemed that certain practices by Brazil were "unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict US commerce."

Brazil has denied all allegations of unfair trade practices, calling them "unfounded" and "absurd."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Brazilian government had "not negotiated with the US in good faith."

"Lula has put his own ego ahead of making a deal for the welfare of the Brazilian people, and these tariffs are the price for that," he said in a post on X.

The new tariff comes as President Donald Trump's administration pushes to rebuild his economic agenda after the US Supreme Court in February struck down a swath of his global tariffs.

The Brazil tariffs were justified under Section 301 of the Trade Act, Greer's office said, and the Trump administration this year initiated other probes using the same authority.

US officials have already proposed new tariffs targeting dozens of trading partners for their alleged failures to act against forced labor.

In Brazil's case, a senior US official took aim Wednesday at what Washington deemed as adverse actions on digital trade, alongside "unfair" competition linked to state-owned electronic payments system PIX, among other issues.

The official rejected criticism that Section 301 probes were being used for political purposes.
The official said the door to negotiations remain open, although Washington wishes for its concerns -- including allegations Brazil gives preferential treatment to partners like Mexico and India -- to be resolved.

While the Trump administration said it does not expect retaliation following Wednesday's announcement, it warned that pushback could invite further US countermeasures.

At a public hearing held by Greer's office in Washington this month, Brazilian conservative presidential hopeful Flavio Bolsonaro urged the United States against imposing the new tariffs.

The eldest son of Brazil's former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro argued that new duties would benefit Lula, his political rival.

The pair are top competitors in the October presidential election.

Last year, the Trump administration hit Brazil with sharp tariffs over the coup trial against Jair Bolsonaro, who is now serving a 27-year prison sentence.

Many of the duties were rolled back after talks between both sides.

Business

UK Economy Claws Back Some Growth as Burnham Prepares to Take Power

FILE PHOTO: People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district in London, Britain May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district in London, Britain May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo
TT
TT

UK Economy Claws Back Some Growth as Burnham Prepares to Take Power

FILE PHOTO: People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district in London, Britain May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district in London, Britain May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

Britain's economy eked out minimal growth in May as the services industry expanded but other sectors shrank, suggesting fragile confidence among businesses against the backdrop of the Iran war and a change of prime minister at home.

Gross domestic product expanded by 0.1% in May, in line with the median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists and reversing a 0.1% fall in April, official data showed on Thursday.

Services output expanded by 0.3% on the month but industrial production and construction both contracted, falling by 0.5% and 0.8% respectively.

Figures showing robust overall economic growth of 0.7% in the three months to May offered a positive send-off to finance minister Rachel Reeves before her expected replacement next week under new prime minister Andy Burnham. Reeves' ⁠job appears likely ⁠to go to Shabana Mahmood, currently Britain's interior minister, who is set to be named finance minister next week by Burnham, according to news reports on Wednesday including in the Financial Times.

An upwardly revised growth figure of 0.8% in the three months to April represented the fastest expansion since the Labour Party came to power and matched the rate achieved under Reeves' Conservative predecessor Jeremy Hunt in May 2024.

Compared with a year earlier, output in May was 1.3% higher, the biggest annual rise in 10 months.

However, ⁠the outlook for the economy remains darkened by the shadow of the conflict in the Gulf and uncertainty over the latest change of political leadership at home — Britain's seventh in the past 10 years. On Wednesday, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said it expected British GDP to grow by only 0.9% this year and 1.1% in 2027, although the forecast for 2026 was the strongest for the major European economies.

Neil Birrell, chief investment officer at fund management firm Premier Miton, said uncertainty around economic policy in Burnham's government was likely to weigh on growth in the months ahead.

"It's unlikely businesses and individuals will be actively hiring or spending ahead of getting policy details," Reuters quoted Birrell as saying. "All that, when the starting point is an economy that is barely growing."

Sanjay Raja, chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank, saw more positive details in the GDP data and said Britain ⁠was likely to remain near ⁠the top of the Group of Seven growth table in the April-to-June period.

"In short, PM Starmer hands over the economy to his successor on a much better footing," he said.

The OECD urged Burnham, who is due to replace Keir Starmer as prime minister on Monday, to keep the government's budget discipline, tackle high pension spending and address soaring energy prices to speed up the economy.

The Office for National Statistics, which published Thursday's figures, said the growth in services over the three months to May was driven by computer programming and advertising alongside the often-volatile pharmaceutical industry.

In May, growth in research and development in medical sciences was particularly strong, the statistics agency said.

Britain's goods trade deficit narrowed in May to its smallest since January at £18.7 billion, a bigger drop than economists had expected from April's £24.6 billion.

Business

Japan to Recognize Cryptocurrency As 'Financial Assets'

A man stands near an advertisement of a cryptocurrency exchange in Tokyo, Japan March 30, 2018. Picture taken March 30, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 
A man stands near an advertisement of a cryptocurrency exchange in Tokyo, Japan March 30, 2018. Picture taken March 30, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 
TT
TT

Japan to Recognize Cryptocurrency As 'Financial Assets'

A man stands near an advertisement of a cryptocurrency exchange in Tokyo, Japan March 30, 2018. Picture taken March 30, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 
A man stands near an advertisement of a cryptocurrency exchange in Tokyo, Japan March 30, 2018. Picture taken March 30, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 

Japan’s parliament approved new amendments on Wednesday that will recognize cryptocurrencies as financial assets, a move that would put their regulation under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, according to Japanese Broadcaster NHK.

Crypto had previously been regulated mainly under Japan’s Payment Services Act, which treated it more as a payment method than an investment product.

With the latest change, cryptocurrency trading will become subject to rules closer to those governing stocks and other securities, including restrictions on trading based on insider information.

That could give regulators clearer grounds to pursue project founders, exchange employees and other people who trade before market-moving information becomes public.

The law also raises the maximum punishment for operating an unregistered crypto trading business from three years in prison and a fine of about $20,000 to 10 years and roughly $67,000.

The new regulations don’t limit themselves to the fight against insider trading. The regulations will require crypto exchanges to comply with the general structure of Japan’s financial services industry, according to Anderson Mori & Tomotsune Law Firm in Japan, according to Japanese law firm Anderson Mori & Tomotsune.

Additionally, some crypto issuers will have to make certain disclosure requirements similar to those made by firms issuing securities.

Crypto lenders will be subjected to regulation, and firms that offer wallets and other technologies to exchanges may face new notification and compliance requirements, per the report.

Economic Plan

Separately, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday said she saw no link between her government's draft economic blueprint ‌and a recent market rout that has driven Japanese government bond (JGB) yields to multi-decade highs.

“I do not believe that a single draft government document, which has not even been approved by the cabinet yet, ⁠is the cause of the market shock,” Takaichi told parliament.

Concerns about political interference in monetary policy have grown since the government in its draft blueprint said it was "very important for monetary policy to be guided appropriately to achieve a stronger economy". The draft was followed by a selloff in JGBs.

Takaichi also said interest rates, as ‌well ⁠as foreign exchange rates, are "determined by a variety of factors. Looking at today's market moves, for example, there are influences from US interest rates and employment data," she said.

The prime ⁠minister said she saw the current debate on temporary cuts in food sales tax as a chance to establish a ⁠system in which consumption tax rates could be changed flexibly.

Asked about the yen's persistent weakness, she said boosting ⁠domestic investment and strengthening international competitiveness would raise potential growth and maintain confidence in the yen.