The gold market is seeking direction, noted Kitco's mining audience manager Michael McCrae. On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable with Kitco correspondent Paul Harris. McCrae noted that the big news this week was the Federal Reserve pushing interest rates to a 22-year high on Wednesday. The Fed resumed its hikes from last month's pause. The big data point this week was core Personal Consumption Expenditures price index increased 0.2% last month, compared to May's increase of 0.3%. The report revealed that in June inflationary pressures continues to diminish while consumer spending continues to expand. The news sent equity markets higher. Despite the data, analysts say markets are too unsettled. "The market is desperate for any type of clarity. Right now, the Federal Reserve is going to maintain their hawkish bias because they want to see inflation go down further, so any soft data that will shift that bias will be good for gold," argued Kevin Grady, president of Phoenix Futures and Options, in an interview with Neils Christensen. The drop in commodity prices have been hitting the base metal miners. Rio Tinto said its net earnings amounted to $5.1 billion for the six months ended June 30 2023 (HY23), down 43% compared to HY22. In a press release, Rio Tinto noted "softer” market conditions. Teck that saw Q2 profits of C$510 million compared to C$1.5 billion a year prior.

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