Gold Held Near A Record For A Second Day
As investors digested the latest developments around tariffs and their impact on the U.S. economy and the Federal Reserve’s decision weighed on the impact. The precious metal traded near $2,918 an ounce, less than $40 below its all-time high hit last week.
Silver has also been in strong demand, rising nearly 5% this week. There was more movement on the tariff front on Wednesday, with President Donald Trump delaying new levies on automakers in Mexico and Canada for a month. The move sent Treasury yields to their lowest levels this year amid growing investor confidence that slowing growth due to trade will prompt the Fed to cut interest rates several times in 2025. Lower borrowing costs and falling yields tend to benefit gold, which pays no interest. The president’s tariffs have prompted retaliation from some countries, creating big swings in equities and unsettling investors. Gold and silver — up 41% and 37% respectively since the end of 2023 — have found further support this year from rising appetite for safe-haven assets.
Silver has also benefited from industrial demand, which has outpaced new supply for several years. While there is plenty of mined product on the move, there are concerns that supplies in London could be tight after Trump’s tariff threats prompted traders to ship record amounts of metal to New York warehouses in recent months.
Read More: New York Silver Stocks Rise to Record as Tariffs Loom
Elsewhere, traders will parse nonfarm payrolls data on Friday for further signs of a slowing labor market, which would raise the possibility of more Fed rate cuts. On Wednesday, ADP Research figures showed hiring at U.S. companies slowed in February to the slowest pace since July.
Spot gold was little changed at $2,917.81 an ounce at 8:49 a.m. in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady, after three straight days of declines. Silver fell, palladium was steady and platinum rose slightly.
Source: Bloomberg
