Morning Brief: September 1

• The price of gold has reached a new high. The price of gold futures for delivery in December 2025 exceeded the $3,550 per troy ounce mark for the first time in history. Precious metals prices are rising amid expectations that the Fed will lower the rate at the upcoming meeting.  

• The SCO will create a Development Bank. The countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization have agreed to establish the SCO Development Bank and begin consultations on its work. The participants also expressed support for the reform of the global financial system to strengthen the role of developing countries and stressed the importance of expanding settlements in national currencies.

• Russia has lost one of its payment channels with China. Heihe Rural Bank has stopped accepting payments from Russia. Previously, it was one of the last banks ready to open correspondent accounts to Russian non-sanctioned credit organizations. On July 19, the EU Council imposed sanctions against Heihe for allegedly providing services related to cryptoassets that significantly undermine the purpose of restrictions against the Russian Federation.

• Bitcoin has updated its 2-month low. BTC dropped to $107.2 thousand, the lowest level since the beginning of July. The pressure was increased by sales from the «whales», the outflow of funds from spot ETFs and a decrease in interest in bitcoin amid an increase in capital inflows into Ethereum funds. Analysts note that the drop coincided with the «red September», a traditionally weak month for markets when volatility increases.

• Copper is back at $10,000. The price of copper on the London Stock Exchange rose to $9,928 per ton, approaching the key mark of $10,000 for the first time since July. The growth was supported by a weak dollar and steady demand, especially in China, where consumption increased by ~10% in the first half of the year. In August, the metal added 3%, and expectations of a Fed rate cut are increasing investor interest.