Gold falls as dollar gains, trade tensions ease

FE Team | Published: April 30, 2025 23:05:16

Gold prices fell for the second straight session on Wednesday, hurt by a stronger dollar and signs of de-escalation in US-China trade tensions, while focus was also on a slew of US economic data due this week, reports Reuters.
Spot gold was down 1.1 per cent at $3,279.51 an ounce as of 1145 GMT. But bullion was on track to log its fourth consecutive monthly gain, up 5 per cent so far in April.
US gold futures slipped 1.3 per cent to $3,289.
"The market is currently experiencing high volatility as the two-way flows compete. In short, it looks as if gold may be entering a well-earned period of consolidation," said Ross Norman, an independent analyst.
The dollar index rose 0.1 per cent against its rivals, making bullion more expensive for other currency holders.
"Gold prices are lower in more stable conditions as the market took stock of what appeared to be a de-escalation of the US-led trade war that has rattled the financial markets in recent weeks," Frank Watson, market analyst at Kinesis Money, said in a note.
"That said, gold's reluctance to move much lower can be taken as a sign that the financial markets are still on edge amid uncertainty over US trade policies and their ultimate impact on the wider global economy."
US President Donald Trump signed a pair of orders to soften the blow of his auto tariffs on Tuesday, while his trade team touted its first deal with a foreign trading partner.
Bullion, a safeguard against political and financial turmoil, last soared to a record high of $3,500.05 per ounce on April 22 as investors sought refuge from global economic turmoil.
Investors will turn their focus to a series of U.S. economic data, including U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) later in the day and the non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which could shed more light on the Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook.
Elsewhere, spot silver dipped 2.2 per cent to $32.24 an ounce, platinum fell 1.1 per cent to $966.77 and palladium lost 0.5 per cent to $929.85.