Gold up Hits Near Two-Week Peak

Gold rose in Asia on Monday morning. It reached a near two-week high as the dollar fell. This offset speculation that the US Federal Reserve would begin asset tapering shortly.

Gold futures were up 0.15 percent to $1,761 after reaching a high of $1,765.54 on September 23. The dollar, which generally swings in the opposite direction of gold, fell to its lowest level since September 29.

According to Philadelphia Fed Bank President Patrick Harker, the Fed may be close to reaching the inflation mandate. This will force rise in interest rates. He did, however, caution that it could be a year or longer before the central bank’s employment target is attained. Therefore allowing for an interest rate hike. Cleveland Fed Bank President Loretta Mester stated on Friday that conditions for interest rate hikes could be reached by the end of 2022. The inflation will likely return to the Fed’s target in 2022.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand issued its decision a day later. The Reserve Bank of India issued its decision on Friday. 

SPDR Gold Trust GLD (NYSE: GLD) reported a 0.4 percent drop in holdings to 986.54 tons on Friday. At the same time, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released the same day showed speculators reduced net long positions by 19,471 contracts to 42,123 in the week ending September 28.

Natural Gas

The European Commission has stated that liquid natural gas (LNG) is an essential transitional fuel to decarbonize EU maritime activities because the available quantities of zero or low-carbon fuels are currently insufficient.

Environmental groups have criticized the inclusion of LNG in FuelEU Maritime regulations to enhance green fuels in the maritime industry. They contend that it will hinder the adoption of genuinely zero-carbon fuels. Moreover, it will keep reliance on gas, a fossil fuel, in place. However, due to supply constraints, a fast shift to electro-fuels and advanced biofuels is impractical, according to Joaquim Nunes de Almeida, director for energy-intensive industry and mobility at the European Commission’s DG GROW. CLIA Europe, a trade organization for cruise lines, and Sea Europe, a group representing shipbuilders and maritime equipment makers, supported the Commission’s Fit for 55 package’s environmental goals. They were also concerned that the planned legislative measures would raise costs when the industry recovered from the COVID-caused slowdown.