Gold reached US$2,942 ($4,674) an ounce overnight before paring back some of its gains, while base metals were impacted by the US Federal Reserve’s comments that it is not in a hurry to cut rates further.
Aluminium is expected to witness continued volatility given US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports of the metal.
“We expect the US aluminium industries will struggle to avoid the tariffs in the short term, putting upward pressure on prices,” ANZ Economist Madeline Dunk says.
Meanwhile, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 edged back 11.4 points, or 0.13%, to 8,472.6 points by 10.30am AEDT.
The index has gained 0.66% over the past five days, but sits 1.1% away from its 52-week high.
Six of the 11 sectors moved higher, with utilities the best performing on a 0.4% tick higher and a five-day gain of 0.86%. Energy inched up 0.08%, buoyed by continued supply-side issues, while materials moved down 0.08%.
The S&P/ASX200 is Australia’s leading share market index and contains the top 200 ASX-listed companies in terms of market capitalisation, and accounts for about 80% of the country’s equity market. The index is designed to measure the performance of the 200 largest index-eligible stocks listed on the ASX by float-adjusted market capitalisation.
It is recognised as the institutional investable benchmark in the country.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: ASX & iStock
