FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Gold Rises to Two-Week High as Weaker Dollar Boosts Prices

By

Gold traded at a two-week high early Wednesday, rising for a second straight session as the US dollar weakened.

Gold for August delivery was last seen up $61.20, or 1.5%, at $4,137.60 per ounce, the highest level since July 9.

Still, the metal remains down 7.5% since the start of the year, as the Middle East conflict has driven up energy costs, fueling concerns that central banks may need to raise interest rates and prompting investors to favor the US dollar and bonds over gold. However, the metal has found support around the $4,000 level, falling below that mark only once over the past month.

"Bullion is holding up despite firmer US yields and a stronger dollar, as energy-driven inflation risk and safe-haven demand from the Middle East conflict outweigh those headwinds," Saxo Bank noted.

The dollar edged lower, with the ICE dollar index last seen down 0.3 basis points to 101.15. Treasury yields rose, with the US two-year note last seen paying 4.289%, up 1.1 basis points, while the yield on the 10-year note was up 2.1 points to 4.65%.

Related Articles

Sectors

BluEnergies Upsizes Private Placement to C$20.7 Million on Strong Demand

BluEnergies (BLU.V) increased the size of its previously announced non-brokered private placement to up to C$20.70 million from C$10.13 million, citing strong investor demand.The company said Tuesday the offering will consist of up to 9.2 million units priced at C$2.25 each, compared with the previously announced 4.5 million units at the same price.BlueEnergies aims to use the net proceeds for the exploration and advancement of the assets as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes.Shares of the company closed up C$0.17 to C$2.25 on TSX Venture Exchange on Tuesday.

$BLU.V
Sectors

Sector Update: Energy Stocks Rise Late Afternoon

Energy stocks were higher late Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) up 0.8%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was climbing 1.4%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was fractionally higher.In geopolitical news, President Donald Trump delivered a dim view of possible talks with Iran to end the war, telling reporters Tuesday that the US has "no interest in meeting" until Iran is ready to convene "in a meaningful way," the Associated Press reported.Separately, a desalination facility and power plants caught fire and suffered serious damage in Kuwait after new Iranian strikes targeted the crucial facilities, along with areas of Bahrain and Jordan, following the 10th consecutive night of US bombing, Al Jazeera reported Tuesday.Meanwhile, the Houthi-run SABA news agency said six ships attempting to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the southern Red Sea were forced to reroute on Tuesday after being warned by the rebels, a day after they announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia, according to the Associated Press.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 2% to $84.91 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract rose 2.3% to $91.25 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures increased 0.9% to $2.89 per 1 million BTU.In corporate news, Fluor (FLR) said Tuesday it secured a contract from Gulf Petrochemical Industries to carry out the front-end engineering and design for a new aromatics facility in Bahrain. Fluor shares gained 3.6%.Shell (SHEL) resumed operations at a 200,000-barrel-per-day crude oil unit at its Pernis oil refinery in the Netherlands on Monday following a brief disruption, Reuters reported. Shell shares were up 1.1%.Shell, TotalEnergies (TTE) and BP (BP) are in negotiations to supply 15 to 18 cargoes of liquefied natural gas per month to Egypt for at least three years, Reuters reported. TotalEnergies shares climbed 2.9%, and BP added 1.3%Magnolia Oil & Gas (MGY) shares were down 2%. The company said late Monday it priced its underwritten public offering of 46.3 million class A shares at $23.75 per share.

$BP$FLR$MGY$SHEL$TTE
Sectors

Sector Update: Financial Stocks Advance Late Afternoon

Financial stocks were higher in late Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 0.5% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) up 0.1%.The Philadelphia Housing Index was down 0.4%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) eased 0.2%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was adding 1.6% to $66,270, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 3 basis points to 4.628%.In economic news, Redbook US same-store sales rose 7.8% from a year earlier in the week ended July 18 after an 8.2% year-over-year increase in the previous week.The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's monthly nonmanufacturing activity index rose to 7.4 in July from minus 25.8 in the previous month, indicating expansion in the sector.In corporate news, Goldman Sachs (GS) has launched a new platform to expand its offerings for wealthy clients and family offices seeking direct stakes in fast-growing private companies, CNBC reported, citing a memo. The new group, called the alternative investments platform, combines Goldman's alternatives business with two new teams, the report said. Goldman shares were up 2.5%.JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Jefferies Financial (JEF) were among four banks chosen by InMobi to raise about $1 billion as part of an IPO process due to begin later this week, Bloomberg reported. JPMorgan shares rose 1.6%, and Jefferies added 2.6%.Marsh & McLennan (MRSH) shares were up 0.2% after the firm reported higher Q2 adjusted net income and revenue.MSCI (MSCI) shares fell past 10% after it reported Q2 adjusted EPS of $4.94, up from $4.17 a year earlier, but below the FactSet consensus of $4.99.

$GS$JEF$JPM$MRSH$MSCI