Gold spot prices reached $4,829 per troy ounce at the end of the week, marking a fourth consecutive weekly gain. COMEX futures closed at $4,879, up 1.48%, driven by Iran's Strait of Hormuz truce and U.S. dollar weakness.
Ken Murphy stated, 'In terms of tax pressures, industry and energy in particular, anything the government can do to help us to keep prices low for customers is welcome.' This highlights the urgent need for government intervention to support retailers.
Nearly half of firms (48%) expected turnover to grow over the next 12 months in the first quarter of the year, up from 42% in the final quarter of 2025.
The most senior officials from the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and the Bank of England are expected to take part in a desktop stress test to respond to another Lehman Brothers-style collapse.
The World Bank's recent report argues that government intervention, when done right, can actually be an essential ingredient of economic success, reversing decades of opposition to industrial policy.
China's exports have decelerated as the Iran war starts to affect global demand and supply chains, according to Gary Ng, a senior economist for Asia Pacific at French bank Natixis.
Shipping costs have increased by more than 10 percent in the past month due to the US-Israel war on Iran. The 60-day waiver for the Jones Act aimed to lower energy costs but has had little impact on oil prices, which continue to rise amid the ongoing conflict.
