US lets in refugees stuck in Mexico
„Platinum up 120% on auto demand
San Diego, Feb. 19: After waiting months and sometimes years in Mexico, people seeking asylum in the United States are being allowed into the country starting from Friday as they wait for courts to decide on their cases, unwinding one of the Trump administration’s signature immigration policies that President Joe Biden vowed to end.
The number of asylum-seekers coming in initially will be very limited, beginning on Friday at a border crossing in San Diego and expanding to Brownsville, Texas, on Monday and El Paso, Texas, next Friday.
US officials are warning people not to come to the US-Mexico border, saying an estimated 25,000 people with active cases in the “Remain in Mexico” program and several hundred who are appealing decisions should register on a website that the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees is launching early next week.
The International Organisation for Migration, the UN migration agency, plans to test asylum-seekers for Covid-19 and will quarantine anyone who tests positive for 10 days before they enter the United States.
Friday marks a key milestone in unraveling one of former President Donald Trump’s cornerstone policies to deter people from seeking protection from persecution and returns the US asylum system to the way it worked for decades.
But there are unanswered questions, including how Central Americans who returned home will get back to the US-Mexico border. It’s also unclear how long it will take to work through more than 25,000 active Remain in Mexico cases, with the oldest going first. —
Gold prices have corrected
18 per cent and lost more than Rs 10,000 since August while platinum prices have gained more than 120 per cent since April. Despite the current weakness in gold, both the metals are expected to see further rally in 2021.
Gold prices have dropped to Rs 45,950 per 10 gm in the Multi Commodity Exchange from the highs of Rs 56,590 in August— losing more than Rs 10,000 per 10 gm. In the international market, the yellow metal had touched a record high of $2,075 an ounce in August as the favourable macro-economic factors got a boost from the pandemic uncertainty. Since then prices have been receding and have fallen to
$1,760 levels, losing more than $300 per ounce.
“Gold prices have slipped below the crucial Rs
46,000/10gm level, to hit an eight-month low. The rise in the US Treasury yields and stronger dollar, optimism of a larger economic stimulus package, and the vaccination drive have led to downside pressure on gold prices,” said Nish Bhatt, founder and CEO, Millwood Kane International.
“Gold has seen considerable weakness as investors started profit-booking ever since the vaccine news started coming. Easy money started flowing into riskier assets like equities and Bitcoin and the industrial recovery saw the base metal prices more than doubling. Most of the equity markets are trading at their life-time high levels and Bitcoin has shot up from Rs 4,000 in March to Rs 52,800,” said Ajay Kedia, MD, Kedia Commodities.
Another precious metal, platinum, too saw a rally with the recovery in the automotive sector. Prices are at a six-year high and have moved up from $560 an ounce in April to
$1273—up by more than
120 per cent.
“Tougher pollution regulations requiring vehicle makers to use more platinum in catalytic converters are supporting prices. China is implementing Phase 6 standard for both gasoline and diesel vehicles from January 2021. As other economies follow the same, the demand will further go up. Moreover, platinum may see a third consecutive annual production deficit in 2021 amid supply concerns from South Africa,” said Kedia.
Despite the divergent movement seen in both the metals in the second half of last year and the initial months of this year, analysts say the metals will rally in 2021.
“Gold rally never ends in a year. It goes on for six to eight years. Despite the current weakness, there are several factors that still support gold. A possible weakness in the US dollar, low interest rates, overvalued equities, ETF inflows and recessionary trends in major economies will continue to support gold,’ said Kedia.
In a report published in November, CitiGroup found gold prices pushing to $2,000 an ounce in the medium term with a target of $2,500 for 2021. Similarly, platinum also may move towards $1,500 with tougher pollution norms in the automotive sector increasing demand. Platinum ETFs too have been seeing significant inflows in the recent months.
ELISE-SABALENKA DUO