Gold falls on firm dollar, Trump's tariff stance
Gold prices dropped on Monday as the dollar touched an over two-week high, while investors took stock of U.S. President Donald Trump's more cautious stance on tariffs against trading partners.
Spot gold fell 0.4% to $3,010.33 an ounce at 11:12 a.m. (1512 GMT). U.S. gold futures edged down 0.2% to $3,015.50.
"We've hit a record after record and now the market is just consolidating these gains and this is enforced by somewhat higher U.S. dollar," said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities.
Gold, traditionally seen as a hedge against geopolitical and economic uncertainties and often thriving in a low interest rate environment, has hit 16 record highs this year and reached an all-time peak of $3057.21 last week.
The U.S. dollar (.DXY), opens new tab rose 0.2%, hitting an over two-week high and making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for overseas buyers.
Trump hinted on Friday that there would be some flexibility regarding reciprocal tariffs that are set to take effect on April 2 and are expected to drive inflation and hinder economic growth.
Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee and New York Fed President John Williams said on Friday that it would be premature to gauge the economic effects of Trump's tariff actions.
Last week, the Fed held its benchmark interest rate steady and indicated two quarter-percentage-point cuts this year.
Investors now await U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures data due on Friday, the Fed's preferred inflation measure.
Meanwhile, U.S. and Russian officials held talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at making progress towards a broad ceasefire in Ukraine, with Washington eyeing a separate Black Sea maritime ceasefire deal before securing a wider agreement.
"If over the week the talks in Saudi Arabia do materialize and there is a dip in gold based off that, I expect it will be bought up fairly quickly," said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
Spot silver fell 0.2% to $32.97 an ounce, platinum fell 0.5% to $970.47, and palladium was down 0.9% at $949.25.
Source: Reuters
