Gold reaches record highs and threatens supremacy of US dollar • FRANCE 24 English

Gold reaches record highs and threatens supremacy of US dollar • FRANCE 24 English

Straight to Sha Pelg for business now. A look today at gold prices soaring to record highs. Sh. It’s the stereotypical safe haven asset and investors are piling into it right now. As we speak, the price of an ounce of gold is above the $4,000 mark and climbing. Uh to give you an idea, a simple wedding band like the one I have on my finger right now has somewhere between 2 to six gram of gold. And there are just over 31 gram in an ounce, which is over $4,000. And the climb to these new heights has been steady over the past 10 years as central banks the world over have been buying up the precious metal to fill their coffers. Something that has intensified since Western countries slapped sanctions on Russia over the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Those sanctions really highlighted the potential vulnerability of countries holding foreign reserves as a haven asset. And this made gold look more attractive since it’s not tied to a government or central bank and can be stored domestically. That’s why gold is now the world’s second largest reserve asset in the world ahead of the euro. Trust in one currency in particular that’s been shaken. This is the US dollar sh and that’s what’s uh driven the price of gold uh even higher in the past few months. The world’s foremost currency and reserve asset is increasingly facing a trust deficit, especially since August this year after the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, signaled the start of a rate cutting cycle in spite of low unemployment and above target inflation. All as the traditionally independent US central bank has been the target of a huge pressure campaign by Donald Trump, who has been calling for steep rate cuts to stimulate the economy. The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength versus a basket of other currencies, shows a very different trajectory to gold over the past 10 years. You can see there compared to the previous graph we saw one that’s more volatile and underlining the fact that the dollar has shed value in recent months as concerns are piling up over the independence of monetary policy, the overhaul of global trade because of tariffs and the mounting public finances was illustrated by the US government shutdown taking place uh currently. Increasingly, investors are favoring gold as a reserve asset over dollar denominated assets, notably uh long-term treasury bonds. So, what are the stocks then looking like right now, Sean? Well, we’re seeing uh the major forces in Europe opening flat or or slightly higher at the open this Wednesday, this uh amid similar concerns over government debt uh in France and the UK as we mentioned earlier with regards to the US. And uh finally, cryptocurrencies have been benefiting from the same trend trend as gold as well as they are not tied to any particular government or institution. You can see Bitcoin uh currently at over 104,000 uh euros per bitcoin. Now, as the current US government shutdown stretches into its second week, economic fallout is becoming visible, isn’t it? Mhm. From critical uh data like the latest jobs report not being published to air traffic disruptions due to a lack of controllers, that fallout is taking a number of forms. For some government workers put on furlow by the shutdown, it may mean a severe hit to their take-home pay. Despite a 2019 law that guarantees back pay for furled federal employees, the White House Office of Management and Budget is now saying that may not apply to all of them. Brian Quinn has details. Airports running at limited capacity. Federal buildings closed down. Signs of the ongoing US government shutdown are plain to see. And for some federal workers, it could have a lasting cost. The Trump administration is warning that many furled employees may not get their back pay even when funding is restored. For the most part, we’re going to take care of our people. There are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of and we’ll take care of them in a different way. Some 750,000 federal workers have been told not to report to work due to the shutdown. A 2019 law signed by President Trump in his first term guarantees those furoughed workers retroactive compensation once funding is restored. But a recent memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget contends that only those considered essential and thus compelled to report to work are entitled to back pay. The OM is run by arch conservative Russell Vote, an architect of the notorious right-wing project 2025 plan to slash the federal workforce, eliminate environmental regulations, gut America’s already meager social safety net, and concentrate power in the executive branch. Trump says the shutdown is playing right into votes hands. But we have a lot of things that we’re going to eliminate and permanently eliminate. And you know, Russell Vote, he’s a serious person, very serious person, and he’s sitting there and he’s getting ready to cut things. Republican lawmakers have distanced themselves from the OM’s plan, while Democrats say it’s patently illegal. They have so far refused to pass a short-term spending bill unless Republicans agree to extend federal subsidies on health insurance premiums, which are set to double for many Americans next year. Thanks very much. SH with business on France 24.

The price of an ounce of gold soared past $4,000 on Tuesday, as investors move towards the safe-haven asset in response to mounting debt and other issues threatening the standing of US dollar-denominated assets like Treasury Bonds. In this edition, we examine what has driven the price of gold up over the past few years and what has brought the value of the US dollar down. Also, the Trump administration says it cannot guarantee that all furloughed workers will receive their pay at the end of the US government shutdown.
##Gold ##Dollar ##SafeHaven

Read more about this story in our article: https://f24.my/BUCK.y

🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen
🔴 LIVE – Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN

🌍 Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/

Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen
Follow us on X: https://f24.my/Xen
Bluesky: https://f24.my/BSen and Threads: https://f24.my/THen
Browse the news in pictures on Instagram: https://f24.my/IGen
Discover our TikTok videos: https://f24.my/TKen
Get the latest top stories on Telegram: https://f24.my/TGen