TuesdayJul 19, 2022 12:59 pm

How Does Gold Perform Amid Extreme Economic Turmoil?

Last month, the World Bank predicted a slowdown in the global economy, forecasting that economic growth would go down from 5/7% in 2021 to 2.9% in 2022. The World Bank warned that there was a compounded risk of global recession due to the Russia-Ukraine war and that less developed countries in East Asia and Europe were extremely likely to face a major recession. In such times of economic turmoil, investors often turn to assets such as gold to store their money. Thanks to its ability to retain value even during times of extreme upheaval, gold has been a popular safe…

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MondayJul 18, 2022 12:04 pm

The Netherlands, Austria and Germany Begin to Use Coal Again Amid Energy Crisis

Late last month, the Netherlands turned back to the use of coal as the invasion of Ukraine, which sparked an energy crisis, rages on. The Dutch stated that they would lift restrictions on fossil-fuel powered stations, which had before then been limited to one-third of output. Vienna and Berlin also made similar announcements as Russia, which is facing sanctions over its Ukraine invasion, cut its supply of gas to Europe. Moscow’s invasion has sent prices for energy around the globe skyrocketing, which has in turn raised the likelihood of shortages if the chain of supply was to be interrupted. Gazprom,…

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FridayJul 15, 2022 11:22 am

U.S. Firms Enter into Partnership to Recycle Nuclear Fuel

As the world moves away from the use of fossil fuels in favor of renewable energies in an effort to decrease carbon emissions, interest in the use of uranium as a nuclear fuel continues to grow. Uranium, which is a non-carbon-emitting fuel, is mostly used by nuclear power plants to generate electricity for power grids. However, once the fuel is spent and cannot be used anymore, it becomes radioactive waste. Experts had not found a way to re-purpose this fuel, until now. Recently, Energy Northwest and Curio entered into a memorandum of understanding that will involve the deployment of a…

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ThursdayJul 14, 2022 12:02 pm

Factors That May Influence the Price of Gold in the Weeks Ahead

Gold prices have been all over the place for the past couple of weeks, hitting a 10-month low last week before rallying a little as the week drew to an end. As economic conditions across the world continue to deteriorate, experts say that gold investors have been turning to the dollar as a safe haven, allowing it to breach the $1,800 per ounce crucial resistance. Experts believe several factors will continue influencing gold prices in the coming weeks, including the following: Crude oil prices.  Prices for crude oil have been on the rise across the world partly due to a…

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WednesdayJul 13, 2022 3:35 pm

Copper Rallies as US Dollar Wavers

Copper prices have rallied after months of lows amid a slight drop in the value of the U.S. dollar. Prices hit their lowest point since November 2020 in early July as increased COVID-19 cases in China, rising inventories, hawkish interest rates and a potential recession affected investor sentiment. By July 7, 2022, copper for delivery in the month of September was trading at $3.57 per pound, which is about $7,875 on the New York COMEX Market, rising by 5% from the previous day. Shanghai’s most-traded copper contract went up by 0.2% to roughly $8,640 (57,945 yuan) per tonne as the…

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TuesdayJul 12, 2022 3:52 pm

Possible Rate Hikes, Strong Dollar Decreasing Gold’s Appeal

Gold has always been a safe haven asset for investors looking to retain the value of their money during times of market turmoil. However, gold prices have been down for quite a while and recently hit a six-month low as the U.S. dollar rallied and reached a two-decade high. Spot gold fell by 1.4% to trade at $1,738.99 per ounce while U.S. gold futures were down by 1.5% to $1,738.3. Gold’s appeal as a safe haven asset, which may have diminished slightly due to the volatile markets, may also take a hit as the Federal Reserve adopts more restrictive monetary…

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MondayJul 11, 2022 1:34 pm

The Top-Five Countries Producing Uranium Globally

Uranium, an element utilized in the generation of nuclear energy, is said to be one of the best nonrenewable sources of energy because it doesn’t emit any greenhouse gases. Figures from the World Nuclear Association (WNA) show that global uranium production slightly increased by 1% from 47,731 tons in 2020 to 48,303 tons in 2021. The association stated that 77% of global uranium demand was covered by mined uranium while secondary sources covered the rest of the demand. Kazakhstan was the top uranium producer in the world in 2021, supplying 45% of the global uranium demand. It currently holds 12%…

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FridayJul 08, 2022 11:27 am

The Sliding Price of Copper Heightens Fears of Recession

Over the past couple of months, severe supply chain disruptions, rising costs of living and attempts by the feds to forestall inflation have increased fears of a recession among investors. During such speculative times, investors often look to assets such as copper to help predict the health of the economy and pinpoint potential turning points in economic cycles. For dozens of years, investors have been able to predict downturns and upturns in the economy by studying copper prices, earning it the name Dr. Copper in the commodity markets. Increases in copper prices are seen as a significant indicator of an…

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ThursdayJul 07, 2022 12:50 pm

How High Can the Price of Coal Still Go?

Ideally, we should be moving away from using coal to generate energy in exchange for cleaner, more renewable sources of energy. However, recent events have led to a significant increase in the demand for coal and caused an unprecedented increase in coal prices around the world. Even though the Russia-Ukraine war has definitely contributed to the increased coal demand, coal prices were on the rise before Russia invaded Ukraine. For example, back in 2020 when the world was right in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia called for investigations into the origins of the virus. In retaliation, China banned…

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WednesdayJul 06, 2022 2:35 pm

EU Expresses Concerns Over Countries Reneging on Fossil-Fuel Reduction Commitments

The European Union is not happy with EU nations that have gone back to burning coal to generate power in the wake of the energy crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. During a recent interview, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said that European nations have to make sure they don’t backslide to using dirty fossil fuels as the energy crisis continues. Rather, she told media outlets, we should use the crisis to move our transition to clean fuels forward. Russia is a major global producer of oil and gas, with a large chunk of those going to European nations.…

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