Gold firms as dollar softens, safe-haven flows rise; US data awaited
Gold rose on Tuesday on a weak dollar and safe-haven demand, as investors awaited inflation data to assess the Federal Reserve's policy path amid fears of simmering trade tensions and slowing economic growth following U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2,897.39 an ounce as of 0250 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were steady at $2,900.80.
The dollar index was near a four-month low hit last week, making bullion less expensive for overseas buyers, while benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields fell.
"The overall uptrend remains intact and the path of least resistance favours the upside, but the market needs to find new momentum to break free of its congestive range before this is actionable in the near term," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.
Trump, in a Fox News interview on Sunday mentioned a "period of transition" while declining to predict whether his tariffs would result in a U.S. recession, sending global stocks down and investors rushing to safe-havens.
Trump imposed new 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada last Tuesday, along with fresh duties on Chinese goods, but later exempted many Mexican and Canadian imports from those tariffs for a month, creating uncertainty in the markets and fanning worries about U.S. inflation and growth.
Investors now await U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data on Wednesday to analyse the Fed's interest rate stance going forward.
Gold is seen as a hedge against political risks and inflation, but higher rates reduce the non-yielding metal's appeal.
"Prices have been stable in a range between about 2,830 and 2,960 for the past four weeks...We would need to see a convincing break above or below these boundaries to conclude that some sort of lasting directional move is resuming," Spivak added.
Spot silver was unchanged at $32.11 an ounce, platinum added 0.15 to $958.25, and palladium slipped 0.6% to $937.00.
Source: Reuters
