Mali Mine Strikes Loom as Gold Settles at $4,382.82 on Softer Yields
Published on 09/19/2026 at 13:50 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Gold finished the week on firmer footing, with the spot price for a fine ounce closing at $4,382.82 on Friday, a gain of 0.9% on the day. The advance came as yields on benchmark 10-year US Treasuries retreated to around 4.93%, having briefly pushed through the 5% mark earlier in the week, offering relief to a metal that pays no interest. Brent crude also eased, trading at $104 a barrel, as Saudi Arabia worked to restore the East-West pipeline following a Houthi attack.
The rebound has been swift. Since the Federal Reserve raised its policy rate by 25 basis points last Wednesday to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%, the precious metal has added 2.8%. Despite that restrictive backdrop, gold is now trading back above its 50-day moving average, a sign that buyers remain willing to look past the cost of holding a non-yielding asset.
Supply-Side Jitters in West Africa
Fresh disruption is brewing on the production side. Unions have called strikes at the Loulo and Gounkoto mines in Mali, both operated by Barrick Mining, with four- and five-day walkouts threatened from 28 September, according to Reuters. A separate 72-hour stoppage is planned at Mali's mining authority and other administrative bodies involved in the sector.
The timing matters. Traders are still digesting the Fed's latest move, and the prospect of lost output from two significant West African operations is lending support to sentiment even as tighter policy weighs on the broader macro picture.
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Mali is not the only source of friction. Ghana's mining regulator is drafting minimum wage rates and new benchmarks for tenders involving mining service providers, part of an effort to curb aggressive undercutting after mines were required last year to award surface work primarily to domestic contractors.
Safety failures are compounding the supply concerns. In Sudan's West Kordofan region, the collapse of a gold mine killed at least 60 people, with local sources warning that more workers may still be trapped underground. Such operational and safety setbacks are putting a visible brake on new global supply.
ETF Demand Holds Its Ground
On the demand side, the market has proven resilient. The World Gold Council reported $18 billion in global net inflows into physically backed gold ETFs during August — the second-largest monthly haul in the history of the data series. Year to date, holdings across these funds have grown by 160 tonnes, driven largely by buyers in North America and Europe.
Central banks continue to underpin the market as well. World Gold Council surveys put global official-sector purchases at 288.9 tonnes in the second quarter of 2026, a 62.4% jump from the same period a year earlier. Poland's central bank and China's central bank have been among the most active buyers so far this year.
Analysts remain cautiously constructive on the months ahead. JPMorgan has set a fourth-quarter target of $4,500, according to media reports, while fresh official data on central bank transactions for the third quarter is expected toward the end of October.
Since the start of the year, gold has posted a modest gain of 1.5%, buoyed by a combination of steady ETF purchases and geopolitical and operational supply risks that show little sign of fading.
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