Rising Gold Prices
Global gold prices rose during Monday’s trading session as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East escalated amid expectations of a US interest rate cut in September.
Contents:
Gold
Attention has shifted to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting scheduled for later this week.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the US central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 5.25%-5.50% during its meeting on July 30-31.
However, weaker US job data in June, along with comments from senior Federal Reserve officials,
have led the futures market to fully price in a 25 basis point cut in September.
Oil
Oil Price Stability:
It prices remained stable during Asian trading on Monday,
despite rising concerns about escalating conflict between Israel and
the Lebanese Hezbollah group following a missile strike on Israeli-occupied territories.
However, oil gains were limited due to potential weak demand and a possible oversupply in the coming months,
causing sharp losses in crude oil markets.
As of 12:24 PM Riyadh time, Brent crude futures for September delivery rose by 0.08% to $81.05 per barrel,
while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell by 0.31% to $76.92 per barrel.
Debt
US Debt Increase:
The US federal debt reached a new record high, coming just $2.5 billion short of surpassing
the $35 trillion mark for the first time in history.
Since 2019, US federal debt has increased by $13 trillion.
The United States has added debt equivalent to 45% of the GDP for the second quarter of 2024 over a five-year period.
This has raised the debt-to-GDP ratio to 122%,
an increase of 19 percentage points over five years.
Rising Gold Prices