Gold prices scaled historic heights above US$1,150 per ounce this week, buoyed by the weak greenback and recent central bank purchases of the precious metal, analysts said.
Traders said the dollar’s overall weak tone was due to the prospect of US interest rates remaining close to zero for some time yet.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold hit an all-time peak at US$1,152.85 an ounce on Wednesday, extending this year’s record-breaking run.
“The price of gold moved further north as the dollar’s decline continued,” analyst Marius Paun at ODL Markets said. “Whilst the US Federal Reserve continues to reiterate that interest rates will remain low, investors appear willing to buy in the precious metal.”
“Like all risk assets, [gold] is benefiting from the sliding dollar, but it is also a safe haven for investors who are concerned about the safety of other currencies,” David Morrison at spread-betting firm GFT said.
By late on Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold rose to US$1,140 an ounce from US$1,104 a week earlier.
Silver gained to US$18.18 an ounce from US$17.32.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum advanced to US$1,435 an ounce at the late fixing on Friday from US$1,359 the previous week.
Palladium climbed to US$360 an ounce from US$354.
OIL: Oil prices rose in a week of volatile trade. Analysts on Friday said crude futures were likely to stay under US$80 because of high oil inventories in the US, the world’s biggest energy-consuming nation, analysts said.
“Relatively swollen US stockpiles [are] still weighing,” VTB Capital commodities analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov in London said.
By Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), light sweet crude for delivery in December firmed to US$76.71 from US$76.41 a week earlier.
On London’s InterContinental Exchange (ICE), Brent North Sea crude for January delivery advanced to US$77.03, compared with US$75.65 for the December contract last week.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
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