Gold Set for Weekly Gain as Investors Weigh Rates, Trade Impact
Gold remained on track for a weekly gain despite falling on Thursday, as investors weighed lower odds for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts as well as lingering concerns about the outlook for global trade.
Bullion traded near $3,330 an ounce to be up around 1.7% this week. It ended the previous session 0.9% lower when US payroll figures surprised on the upside, while the unemployment rate came in lower than expectations. The dollar rose along with Treasury yields — pressuring gold — as traders exited already slim bets on a rate reduction at the Fed’s July meeting. Higher rates typically weigh on gold, which doesn’t bear interest.
Fed policymakers have held the central bank’s key rate steady so far this year, citing the potential for President Donald Trump’s tariff policies to stoke inflationary pressures. Officials have also pointed to the overall stable labor market to support their view that they need not rush to lower rates.
Investors were also monitoring the latest on global trade, after Trump said that his administration may begin sending out letters to trading partners as soon as Friday to set unilateral tariff rates ahead of a July 9 deadline for negotiations.
Gold is up by more than a quarter this year, trading about $170 short of a record set in April. The precious metal has been bolstered by demand for havens as investors grapple with heightened geopolitical and trade tensions, as well as ongoing strong demand from global central banks.
Spot gold was up 0.1% to $3,328.68 an ounce as of 8:09 a.m. in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.1%, after gaining 0.2% in the previous session. Silver dipped, palladium was steady, while platinum edged up.
Elsewhere, investors were weighing the potential economic impact of Trump’s multitrillion fiscal package, after the House passed the bill on Thursday. The sweeping legislation is expected to widen the US deficit by $3.4 trillion over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. That could bolster demand for havens such as gold.
Source: Bloomberg
