Gold recovers slightly, silver falls to more than 2-year lows

Precious metals were mixed on Monday morning, with gold and platinum up, but silver and palladium down, following disappointing US ISM Manufacturing PMI data, which dropped to a 2-year low in June.

 Investors were also looking forward to the release of the US Federal Reserve minutes for the July meeting, due for publication on Wednesday, in which a further 0.75% interest rate hike is expected. Further down the week, the US jobs data for June is expected to be released.

Gold recovers ground from a recent 5-month low

In London morning trading, Spot gold climbed 0.1% to $1,811 per troy ounce, recovering somewhat from a 5-month low seen in the last trading session.

Silver dropped 0.1% to $19.8 per troy ounce, with the precious metal dipping to more than a 2-year low, against a backdrop of a stronger US dollar (DXY) and continuing rate hikes by the US Fed.

US 10-year Treasury yields inched lower to 2.9%.

Platinum was up 0.1% to $889 per troy ounce, but was still trading at 19-month lows, following greater concerns that demand will suffer due to higher interest rates.

Palladium fell 1.3% to $1,940 per troy ounce, tumbling from a 3-week high seen recently, as reduced vehicle production globally continues to weigh on the precious metal.

Copper dropped 0.5% to $3.60 per pound, hovering near a 16-month low, following Chile's announcement that it plans to raise copper royalties and after disappointing US manufacturing data.

Aluminum lost 0.1% to $2,444 per tonne, with the industrial metal trading at more than a one-year low, following dampened demand from the construction sector, due to rising borrowing costs.

Iron ore dipped 3.7% to $118 per tonne, as top consumer China still struggles with rising COVID-19 cases and a slow-recovering economic outlook.

Top things to know about metals today

• Gold: Gold miners in Yukon, Canada, have recently discovered a frozen woolly mammoth.
• Iron ore: Iron ore prices have been mainly depressed due to a number of steel mills in China facing huge losses and cutting production.
• Copper: Chile has just announced that it plans to increase copper royalties for copper miners which mine more than 50,000 tons a year.
• Platinum: Impala Platinum (IMPUY) and AMCU have recently announced that they will be signing a five-year wage deal together.

Top things to know about mining stocks today

• Glencore (GLEN)’s earnings estimate has recently been lowered by Jefferies.
• Rio Tinto (RIOgb) has announced its intent to focus on ESG goals for its Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea.
• BHP (BHP) has recently set new biodiversity targets, in an attempt to create more social value.
• Anglo American (AALI) has just appointed Helena Nonka as Group Director for Strategy and Business Development.