Todd Stone: Canada Must Close Critical Minerals’ “Valley of Death”

The gold price was on the move this week, pushing back above the US$4,000 per ounce level and rising to nearly US$4,160 before pulling back.

Silver followed a similar trajectory, reaching a midweek peak of US$60.50 per ounce.

The precious metals were initially buoyed by increased conflict between the US and Iran, with a rise in attacks spurring investor interest in safe-havens assets.

However, as the period progressed, tensions in the Middle East began to have the opposite effect — supply chain and inflation concerns were reignited as both sides traded blows, with oil prices jumping above US$100 per barrel for the first time since May.

Attention is now shifting to the US Federal Reserve’s next meeting, which is set to run from July 28 to 29. While CME Group’s (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool shows that most traders expect the central bank to leave interest rates unchanged, about a third anticipate a hike.

The gathering will be the second with Fed Chair Kevin Warsh at the helm, and market participants will be ready to go over any commentary he shares with a fine-toothed comb.

Warsh was nominated for the position by US President Donald Trump, who clashed frequently and publicly over rates with former Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

While Warsh has emphasized since his appointment that the battle against inflation isn’t over, the broad consensus is that the Fed will ultimately lower rates.

Here’s Byron King of Paradigm Press explaining the inevitability of that happening:

“I don’t want to say (Warsh is) a one-trick pony, but he’s definitely a pony who knows one trick. And the one trick that he knows is that he wasn’t going to be nominated to be the head of the Federal Reserve unless he at least was leaning towards the idea (of lowering rates). You know, he can’t come right out and say that, but (he’ll) get them down. The guy has a job, and that’s the job.”