Gold hits an all-time high, and First Quantum stops operations in Panama

Gold finally hit a record high, and the copper markets had a big supply shock, said mining audiences manager Michael McCrae. On Friday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable. February gold futures last traded at $2,091.90 an ounce, up more than 4% from last Friday's close. Gold's previous record was at $2,089.20 in August 2020, wrote Kitco editor Neils Christensen.Gold is seeing renewed buying momentum as markets continue to price in a potential rate cut as early as March. The precious metal's rally comes even as the central bank maintains its tightening stance. Friday, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said that he is still not confident monetary policy is sufficiently restrictive enough to bring down inflation to 2%.In mining news, First Quantum was the story. Panama's top court declared that First Quantum's contract with the government to operate a key copper mine was unconstitutional. Panama's president, Laurentino Cortizo, then closed the mine. First Quantum is a top 10 copper miner.