“The sharp price move on Friday also triggered some minor profit-taking on Monday,” said Harshal Barot, a senior research consultant for South Asia at Metals Focus. Writes Atsuko Whitehouse at BullionVault.

Now, the expectation is that the Fed may not aggressively taper its bond-buying programme, or alter the timeline for the first lift-off, given the persistent rise in coronavirus cases, said Harshal Barot, a senior research consultant for South Asia at Metals Focus. Writes Eileen Soreng for Reuters.

That works out to be about $800 in gold and silver in those medals, Philip Newman, a founding partner and managing director of Metals Focus, a London-based research firm, said on Sunday. Writes Neil Vigdor for The New York Times.

“The backdrop for gold is still positive… There is a lot of uncertainty in terms of whether the economic recovery will continue as strong and what happens in the U.S. labor market,” said Harshal Barot, a senior research consultant for South Asia at Metals Focus. Writes Eileen Soreng for Reuters.

While the price of gold continues to remain positive, costs in the gold mining industry increased for the second consecutive quarter in Q1 2021. Adam Webb for Mining Review Africa.

“The dollar strength is limiting gold’s upside and sort of remains one of the key headwinds,” said Harshal Barot, a senior research consultant for South Asia at Metals Focus. Reuters.

Chirag Sheth, a consultant at London-based Metals Focus Ltd said that the second wave has likely caused much more financial distress which could lead to more outright sales of gold, unlike in 2020 when consumers chose to take loans against their stash of gold. BusinessToday.In

While there has been some concerns over the highly contagious the Delta variant of the coronavirus, the more optimistic side of the market sees this as temporary and think economic growth and inflationary pressures might return sooner, preventing any sort of convincing recovery in gold prices in the near-term, said Harshal Barot, a senior research consultant for South Asia at Metals Focus.

The likelihood of financial distress caused by the second wave is much higher and it could lead to more outright sales of gold, unlike in 2020, when consumers chose to take out loans against their stash of the metal, according to Chirag Sheth, a consultant at London-based Metals Focus Ltd. Bloomberg News.

“The key psychological $1,800/ounce level is acting as a barrier for gold. Once it sustains above that for some time, we could see some fresh technical buying,” said Harshal Barot, a senior research consultant for South Asia at Metals Focus.

Investors will stockpile a lot of silver this year, but less than in 2020, according to consultants Metals Focus. Demand in the West is strong, but in India, one of the biggest silver consuming countries, the pandemic is reducing people’s ability to buy, they say. Reuters.

Barrick Gold’s corporate restructuring has led to a jump in greenhouse gas emissions, according to Metals Focus, a leading independent precious metals research consultancy, which today presented findings of its annual peer group ESG report comparing ESG metrics across 16 of the biggest gold miners over the last seven years. Kitco News.

Analysts at Metals Focus see palladium prices rising to $3,000 an ounce in 2021. On June 10, palladium was US$2,814.00/oz. Palladium is a key ingredient in gasoline engine autocatalysts which lower emissions. Automotive demand is forecast to hit a record high this year driven by strong growth in China, which represents one-third of global automotive production. In addition, the roll-out of more stringent emission legislation around the world is expected to support domestic demand, as will President Biden’s green agenda, Metals Focus says.

The World Gold Council (WGC) has released a report highlighting the fact that the cost of production of gold could be on the rise. Adam Webb who is Director of Mine Supply at Metals Focus notes costs in the gold mining industry increased for the second consecutive quarter in Q1 2021, with the global average All-in Sustaining Cost (AISC) up by 5% q/q to $1,048/oz, reaching its highest level since Q2 2013.

Costs in the gold mining industry increased for the second consecutive quarter in Q1’21, with the global average All-in Sustaining Cost (AISC) up by 5% q-o-q to US$1,048/oz, reaching its highest level since Q2’13. Adam Webb on Gold Hub for the World Gold Council.

As London-based precious metals focused consultancy, Metals Focus reports in its 108-page long Gold Focus 2021 report, global gold mine production in 2020 fell for the second consecutive year, declining by 119 tonnes year on year(3%) to 3,478 tonnes.