Latest Market News

1. Central banks in several emerging-market countries continued to boost their gold reserves last month, buying as the price plunged to its lowest level in almost three years. Regular gold buyers Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan were among those that added to their holdings in June, when many other central banks were also active. Market analysts say central banks have seized the slide as an opportunity to get in at lower prices. Ukraine returned for the second month running in June, adding 80,000 troy ounces of gold to its official reserves, which now stand at nearly 1.3 million ounces the IMF figures showed. Azerbaijan bought for the sixth consecutive month, adding nearly 65,000 ounces to its official holdings. Its reserves, which in December stood at virtually nothing, now exceed 250,000 ounces. Kazakhstan, another regular bullion buyer in recent months, also increased its holdings in June. The country's central bank bought more than 45,000 ounces of the metal, taking its reserves to 4.2 million ounces. Russia, a significant purchaser in recent years that has increased its reserves by almost 10% in the past year alone, added just 9,000 ounces to its holdings in June. According to the World Gold Council, Russia's 32 million ounces represent the seventh-largest reserves of any country in the world. Greece added 1,000 ounces to its 3.6-million-ounce reserve, while Kyrgyzstan and Belarus also added a small amount of gold to their holdings.

2. The Federal Reserve is on track to keep its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program as their next policy meeting approaches next week. The officials will be meeting this week to debate the way the central bank describes their plans for short-term interest rates. As we have heard Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke say time and time again since May, the Feds will start to taper their bond-buying only if the economy continues to strengthen. At their July 30-31 meeting, Fed officials are likely to discuss whether to refine or revise "forward guidance, the words they use to describe their intentions for the next few years. With short-term interest rates near zero, the Fed sees such guidance as an important part of its monetary-policy arsenal. For instance, telling investors that short-term rates will stay low for a long time, Fed officials believe, helps hold down long-term rates, and that encourages borrowing, spending, investing and growth. All eyes should be on the Feds Meeting come July 30-31. 

3. A copper price collapse of more than 60 percent, zinc cut by up to a half and oil down to $70 a barrel. That’s the fate facing world commodity markets should China’s growth dip to 3 percent in the next three years. China’s growth slowed for a second straight quarter to 7.5 percent in April-to-June, extending the longest streak of expansion below 8 percent in at least two decades. Manufacturing weakened further in July, according to a preliminary survey of purchasing managers, signaling that the nation’s slowdown hasn’t ended. It was a matter of time before the Chinese economy had a slow down in growth. Unfortunately this slowdown can have a big negative effect on our economy.