Strong Dollar Takes A Toll On Precious & Base Metals

Gold value traders bought up the cheap precious metal to push gold back to the $1110 level adding $3.90 in the Asian session. Gold bottomed after testimony from Janet Yellen before the US Congress on Wednesday. Ms. Yellen more or less assured the markets that a rate increase would come in December as she stated that the US economy is doing well. On Wednesday on the Comex gold futures with December delivery dates fell for a sixth session in a row giving to trade at a seven-week low. Exchanging hands for $1,107.00 an ounce in late afternoon trade, gold is down more than $75 an ounce or 6% from where it trading just before the Federal Reserve’s interest rate announcement last week. Gold fell to a near five-year low of $1,085 in early August.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen testified before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday and echoed the language of the FOMC minutes which opened the door for a rate rise when the bank next meets in December. Yellen gave a positive reading of the employment and housing markets in the US further boosting rate hawks.

The greenback climbed to a three month high of 98.05 against the currencies of the country’s major trading partners on Wednesday. The greenback has strengthened 11.3% over the past year and the last time the currencies topped 100 for a sustained period was in the early 2000s.

Friday’s employment figures in the US will give the clearest indication whether the Fed lift rates from near zero where they have been since December 2008.

Silver was down 0.1 percent at $15.25 an ounce, while platinum was up 0.4 percent at $962.75 an ounce and palladium was up 0.8 percent at $646.50 an ounce.

Lonmin, the world’s third largest platinum producer, could stop trading if its $400 million cash call through a rights issue is unsuccessful, the company said.

Copper is flat at 2.321 as it survives against the strong US dollar on increased demands from China.  Copper turned volatile after hitting a one week high on Wednesday, supported by bets that demand in top consumer China is set to improve thanks to government stimulus measures, and by news that mining giant Glencore will further cut its output of the metal. Glencore said it expects to cut 455,000 tonnes of copper output by the end of 2017. In September, it suspended copper output at two mines in Africa, removing 400,000 tonnes of cathode from the market. In China, equities rallied after President Xi Jinping made economy-friendly comments and the government unveiled proposals for a five-year financial market reform plan. Underpinning prices, LME copper stocks fell by 3,100 tonnes to 263,125 tonnes, down nearly 30 percent since late August to the lowest since February.