“ISM manufacturing is unlikely to dent the optimism around the US economy that has been building up further with positive economic indicators released over the last few weeks,” Saxo Bank market strategist Redmond Wong wrote in a research note.

Gold ended the first quarter 6% higher, but slipped to a two-month low on Wednesday as the dollar rallied on expectations of aggressive U.S. Spot Gold prices rallied to $2,069.89 an ounce last month, a whisker away from a record peak touched in 2020, on mounting fears about the Russia-Ukraine crisis and spiking inflation. “Gold ETFs had their strongest quarterly inflows since Q3 2020, fuelled by safe-haven demand,” the WGC said.

Prices have dropped about 4% since, slipping below the 100-day and 200-day moving averages in the last session, after the Fed reaffirmed plans to end its pandemic-era bond purchases and signalled an interest rate hike in March.

While gold prices have declined this year due to the economic recovery and winding down of pandemic-era stimulus, the detection of the new Omicron coronavirus variant has recently boosted appeal of safer assets.

Castillo, who took office a year ago this week, was elected with overwhelming support in mining districts, as he pledged to redistribute Peru’s mineral wealth.

On the campaign trail, he accused corporations of “plundering” resources instead of sharing with local communities.

“The market seems to be looking at the $1,800 level, which behaves like a giant magnet to the price. And we seem to continue to hover around that point,” Ross Norman, an independent analyst, said, adding that the dollar’s strength and rising yields were pressuring gold.

The first quarter total was also above the five-year average of 1,039 tonnes. By Eric Onstad LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) – Global demand for gold surged 34% year-on-year in the first quarter to the highest in over three years, driven by investors worried about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rising inflation, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in a report on Thursday.

Strong demand for gold-based exchange traded funds (ETFs) helped to boost total gold demand to 1,234 tonnes in the first three months of 2022, the highest since the fourth quarter of 2018, it added.

“Another rate hike this year has been priced in since the Fed’s meeting, as can be seen from the Fed Fund Futures. This was clearly “too much” for gold, causing the price to fall,” Commerzbank wrote in a note.

“To get (mining projects) up and running, the government should generate stability, fast-track permits and beef up conflict-resolution offices,” Compania de Minas Buenaventura Chairman Roque Benavides told Reuters.

The WGC said purchases of small bars and coins in the first quarter slid by 20%, hit by renewed lockdowns in China and historically high prices in Turkey. Jewellery buying was lacklustre, easing by 7% on softer demand in major consumers India and China.

Central banks added 84 tonnes to official gold reserves, which was down 29% compared to the same period last year, but more than double the level of the previous quarter. The outlook was uncertain since it was unclear when the Ukraine conflict would see a resolution, but the WGC said it expected gold investment to keep rising during the rest of the 2022 while consumers may shy away. monetary policy tightening.

Communities are “seeing a newly elected government giving them a supported platform to protest in a way where (they thought) there would be no repercussions,” MMG Executive General Manager Troy Hey said in a call with analysts this week.

LIMA, July 27 (Reuters) – Peruvian mining executives who oversee some of the world’s largest copper mines are losing whatever slim thread of faith they may have had in left-wing President Pedro Castillo’s ability to boost the sector, even after his shift away from early proposals to sharply raise taxes on the industry.

The Grupo Mexico unit’s Cuajone mine halted copper production for over a month due to a community protest. “Foreign investors have lost faith in Peru’s ability to move mining projects forward,” Southern Copper Corp Chief Financial Officer Raul Jacob told Reuters.

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