Gold Steady as Markets Eye Latest Trump Tariff Threats
Gold steadied after a sharp decline on Monday as traders weighed President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats, while stocks were also subdued by a global tech rout.
Bullion traded near $2,740 an ounce after Trump said he had imposed tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper imports, without providing details on the size. The Financial Times reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was pushing for a universal tariff on U.S. imports to start at 2.5% and rise gradually, citing unnamed sources. Trump later said he wanted a “much bigger” overall levy than that. The dollar strengthened, limiting upside demand for gold.
Traders were also watching for fallout from Wall Street amid growing concerns that cheap artificial intelligence models from Chinese startup DeepSeek could make valuations in the sector harder to justify. Bullion fell 1.1% on Monday as traders sold the precious metal to cover losses in equity markets, including the nearly $1 trillion wiped off the Nasdaq.
Gold has set a series of records in 2024, with gains driven by the Federal Reserve’s shift to looser monetary policy, rising geopolitical tensions and central bank buying. The precious metal could get a further boost this year from further interest rate cuts, and a possible surge in demand for safe-haven assets as Trump injects uncertainty into financial markets. The Fed will make its first interest-rate decision of the year in the U.S. on Wednesday.
Fed policymakers are widely expected to leave rates unchanged, but markets will be interested in the bank’s views on growth and inflation given Trump’s policies, said Manav Modi, an analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Spot gold was little changed at $2,740.38 an ounce at 7:46 a.m. in London, about $50 below a record high. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose for a second day, up 0.5%. Silver, platinum and palladium fell.
Source: Bloomberg
