Gold and Silver Industry & Investing News

The latest episode of Unearthed brought together key industry experts to examine the complex factors influencing today’s gold market. World Gold Council Senior Market Strategists Joe Cavatoni and John Reade hosted Financial Times’ US financial markets editor Robert Armstrong, known for his Unhedged newsletter, for an in-depth discussion. The conversation delves into three major market drivers: evolving US fiscal policies, growing geopolitical tensions, and shifting bond yield dynamics, exploring their combined impact on both broader financial markets and the gold industry specifically.

Silver markets showed strong upward momentum on Thursday, pushing against recent resistance levels. The market is testing resistance established by last Friday’s shooting star pattern, with a breakthrough potentially opening the path to $35. While the longer-term outlook remains bullish, strong support levels at $32.35 and $32 could provide buying opportunities during pullbacks. Though silver typically follows gold’s lead, with gold showing some weakness in early futures trading, market participants are advised to monitor both metals closely. The current market sentiment favors buying on dips rather than taking short positions.

Fort Knox, America’s most secure gold depository, is back in the spotlight as President Trump announces an inspection by Elon Musk to verify its gold reserves. Built like a fortress in 1936, Fort Knox is famous for being virtually impenetrable. Its walls are made of enormous amounts of granite, concrete, and steel. The security is so tight that in its entire history, only three groups have ever been allowed inside: President Franklin Roosevelt, a group of journalists and Congress members in 1974, and Treasury officials in 2017. While Treasury Secretary Bessent insists that yearly audits show all the gold is...

After initial tensions between Trump and Zelenskiy, US-Ukraine negotiations have resumed over a critical minerals deal potentially worth $500 billion. Ukraine rejected an initial US proposal demanding 50% of mineral proceeds, citing legal violations, but discussions continue with US envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv. While Trump seeks access to rare earth minerals, experts note that Ukraine’s viable deposits may be limited and some are in Russian-controlled areas.

The stock market is at record highs right now, but Wall Street experts are concerned about hidden risks. While the market is celebrating Trump’s business-friendly policies, it might be ignoring the dangers of his planned tariffs. Here’s what has experts worried: Trump is threatening to put 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada by March. So far, investors have dismissed these threats as just negotiating tactics. But if these tariffs actually happen, they could seriously hurt company profits and cause the stock market to drop by 5-10%. Goldman Sachs and other major banks warn that without strong company earnings...

U.S. existing home sales fell 4.9% in January to an annual rate of 4.08 million units, exceeding economists’ forecasted decline. The decline to 4.08 million units annually was worse than the 4.12 million units economists had predicted. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun points to a persistent affordability crisis, as mortgage rates have remained elevated around 6.85% despite the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 100 basis points since September. This housing market weakness, coupled with a sharp decline in single-family housing starts, suggests residential investment is faltering early in 2024. The Fed’s pause in rate cuts reflects their assessment of...

Jesse Rothstein, a UC Berkeley professor and former Department of Labor chief economist, predicts an imminent “deep, deep recession” driven by Musk’s federal spending cuts. The March employment report, due April 4, is expected to show job losses exceeding any month outside of the 2008-9 financial crisis and 2020 pandemic. The impact extends beyond direct government job cuts, as universities and other institutions implement hiring freezes in response. Rothstein warns that the damage will be compounded by reduced federal government productivity, affecting essential services from infrastructure to public safety. While Musk acknowledges potential “temporary hardship,” the economist suggests the consequences...

The aftermath of Trump’s first trade war has reshaped global commerce in unexpected ways. China has strategically decreased its US trade exposure, dropping from 15.7% to 10.9% of total US trade between 2018 and 2024, while strengthening ties with Southeast Asian nations and Russia. Meanwhile, Vietnam and Mexico have emerged as major US trading partners, partly by becoming alternative manufacturing bases for Chinese companies seeking to avoid tariffs. This shift has created new vulnerabilities. While China’s trade surplus with the US remains the world’s largest, it’s declining under continued Trump-era tariffs and Biden’s technology export controls. Conversely, Mexico, Vietnam, and...