📌 Silver faces fifth consecutive supply deficit as investment demand dominates
Global economic slowdown is expected to reduce industrial demand for silver by about 4% this year.
However, analysts say this decline is not enough to resolve the structural supply-demand imbalance already in place.
According to the Silver Institute, investment demand for silver continues to grow. As a result, the silver market is likely to remain in a supply deficit for the fifth year in a row.
In other words, industrial consumption is weakening, but investor buying more than offsets this.
This trend is becoming a key driver for silver’s long-term supply–demand structure and medium- to long-term price direction.
📌 Gold remains attractive as a safe haven despite fading rate-cut expectations
Market expectations for a December Fed rate cut have weakened recently.
This has put short-term downward pressure on the gold price.
Even so, concerns about a U.S. economic slowdown and debates over the Fed’s independence continue.
These policy uncertainties support demand for gold as a safe-haven asset.
Pepperstone research strategist Dhilyn Wu describes the current environment as highly complex.
He notes that rate expectations, growth worries and policy risk are all at play at the same time.
According to Wu, “As long as economic concerns are not easily resolved, it is difficult to justify aggressively cutting gold allocations in a portfolio.”
📌 Italy considers one-off high tax to legalize undeclared private gold holdings
The Italian government is working on a scheme to legalize undeclared private gold holdings.
A one-off special tax could be included in the 2026 budget revision.
Under the proposal, self-reported gold holdings would be taxed at a rate of up to 52%.
The government aims to raise around 2 billion euros, or about 2.3 billion U.S. dollars, in additional revenue.
Effectively, the plan is designed to pull “hidden gold” into the formal system and strengthen public finances.
How Italian retail investors respond to this measure could have a meaningful impact on the local gold market.
📌 Gold price dips as rate-cut expectations fade and the dollar edges higher
Expectations for a U.S. rate cut next month are fading.
This has led to a short-term correction in the gold price.
Spot gold is trading around $4,069 per ounce, about 0.3% below the recent intraday high near $4,100.
U.S. gold futures are also softer, around $4,071, down roughly 0.5%.
Over the same period, the U.S. dollar index has inched higher.
For investors holding other currencies, gold now feels relatively more expensive.
Uncertainty around the Fed’s policy path has not gone away.
In the near term, shifts in rate-cut expectations and moves in the dollar remain the key drivers for gold prices.
📌 Revival Gold confirms upside in resources and economics at Mercur project
Revival Gold (TSXV: RVG) has released new drilling results from its Mercur gold project in Utah, USA.
The latest data supports the project’s initial Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA)
and at the same time points to additional resource expansion potential.
Key drill hole RM25-117 returned 44.2 meters averaging 1.4 g/t gold from a depth of 33.5 meters.
Hole RM25-120 delivered 24.4 meters averaging 1.0 g/t gold from 67 meters downhole.
According to the company, Mercur is a shallow oxidized deposit suitable for open-pit, heap-leach development.
The project is estimated to produce about 95,600 ounces of gold per year over a 10-year mine life.
These drilling results are seen as confirming both cost competitiveness and the potential to further expand the mine plan.
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