Gold pares gains as Xi-Trump call signals thaw in tensions; silver hits 13-year high
Safe-haven gold trimmed gains on Thursday after a reported phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump signaled a potential easing of trade tensions, while silver breached the key $35 level to reach a 13-year high.
Spot gold rose 0.1% at $3,377.29 an ounce, as of 10:22 a.m. ET (1422 GMT) after trading 0.6% higher earlier. U.S. gold futures climbed 0.1% to $3,401.10.
Chinese state media reported that Xi spoke with Trump by phone on Thursday. The call came amid rising tensions over critical minerals, threatening an already fragile trade truce.
"Trump will have a positive spin on the call with President Xi, therefore decreasing the imminent decoupling risks from China and the U.S., which have ultimately been one of the factors driving inflows into precious metals," said Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities.
Gold, a safe-haven asset during times of political and economic uncertainty, has gained about 29% this year.
Central banks worldwide are set to buy 1,000 metric tons of gold in 2025, marking a fourth straight year of massive purchases as they shift reserves away from dollar assets, Metals Focus said.
Meanwhile, data showed weekly jobless claims increased for a second straight week, signaling a weakening labor market. All eyes now turn to Friday's non-farm payrolls report.
Trump on Wednesday renewed calls for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut rates.
"I think that a weakening in the U.S. labor market will increase bets on a dovish Fed, (which) would be positive for gold," said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at brokerage firm ActivTrades.
Zero-yield bullion tends to thrive in a low interest-rate environment.
Meanwhile, spot silver jumped 2.5% to $35.84 per ounce, highest since February 2012. The gold-silver ratio was currently at 94, down from 105 in April.
"Extreme volatility may be back here as silver can really gallop, both ways," said Tai Wong, an independent metals trader.
Platinum rose 5% to $1,139.37, its highest level since March 2022, and palladium was up 0.1% at $1,009.40.
Source: Reuters
