Wall Street stocks end down, inflation data, China trade in focus

NEW YORK – Wall Street’s main indexes ended lower on Monday as investors anxiously await inflation data this week to assess the outlook for interest rates and eye US-China trade developments.

Investors expect the recent shakeup at the US Federal Reserve and signs of labor market weakness could nudge the central bank into adopting a dovish monetary policy stance later this year, fueling much of the optimism.

July’s consumer inflation report is due on Tuesday, and investors anticipate that the Fed will lower borrowing costs by about 60 basis points by December, according to data compiled by LSEG.

“The inflation data is starting to embody the more direct tariff impacts on the consumer, raising concern that inflation will remain sticky,” said Eric Teal, chief investment officer at Comerica Wealth Management.

“Lower inflationary readings and slower growth numbers are needed to support the case for lower rates.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 200.52 points, or 0.45%, lower to 43,975.09, the S&P 500 lost 16.00 points, or 0.25%, to 6,373.45 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 64.62 points, or 0.3%, to 21,385.40.

Shares of Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices were volatile through the day, ending 0.35% and 0.28% lower, respectively.

A US official told Reuters the semiconductor majors had agreed to give the United States government 15% of revenue from sales of their advanced chips to China.

Analysts said the levy could hit the chipmakers’ margins and set a precedent for Washington to tax critical US exports, potentially extending beyond semiconductors.

Separately, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order extending a pause in sharply higher US tariffs on Chinese imports for another 90 days, a White House official said.

Enabling semiconductor sales to China was an integral issue in the agreement Washington and Beijing signed this year, which expires on Tuesday. Trump lauded China’s cooperation in talks at a White House press conference on Monday.

Traders took a step back after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq last week logged their strongest weekly performances in more than a month.

Citigroup and UBS Global Research became the latest brokerages to raise their year-end targets for the benchmark S&P 500.

Micron Technology raised its forecast for fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted profit, boosting its shares 4%.

Intel rallied 3.5% after a report said CEO Lip-Bu Tan arrived at the White House on Monday. Trump had called for his removal last week.

TKO TKO.N surged 10% after Paramount bought the rights from the live entertainment company to exclusively distribute UFC events for the next seven years in a deal valued at around USD 7.7 billion.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.18-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 251 new highs and 98 new lows on the NYSE.

On the Nasdaq, declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.24-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and 17 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 73 new highs and 121 new lows.

Volume on US exchanges was relatively light, with 15.5 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 18.3 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.

(Reporting by Saeed Azhar in New York and Johann M Cherian and Sanchayaita Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Rod Nickel)

US yields climb as investors look toward data

NEW YORK – US Treasury yields rose on Friday, with that of the benchmark 10-year note set for its first weekly gain in three weeks after a series of lackluster auctions ahead of next week’s inflation data.

Yields have been choppy throughout the week, moving lower on economic data that indicated little movement in the labor market, while a services sector report hinted at a rekindling of inflationary pressures. Yields turned higher later in the session as the Treasury saw weak demand for a total of USD 125 billion in 3-year notes, 10-year notes and 30-year bonds.

The 10-year yield recorded its biggest weekly drop in two months last week, after a soft government payrolls report sharply increased expectations on the timing and amount of rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year.

Data next week will include multiple readings on inflation, including the consumer price index (CPI), which will heavily influence rate expectations for the central bank.

The benchmark US 10-year Treasury note yield rose 3.9 basis points to 4.283% and was up 6.5 basis points on the week, on track for its biggest weekly gain since early July.

“We probably came down as far as we’re likely to, unless we get really much weaker data, and so our call is we stall at 4.25%, said Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Management in New York.

“It’s normal for this to back up, because we don’t know what CPI is going to be,” said Hatfield, who also cited the uncertainty surrounding the makeup of the Federal Reserve board of governors.

The yield on the 30-year bond rose 4.1 basis points to 4.853% and was up 4.9 basis points on the week after two straight weekly declines.

RATE EXPECTATIONS

Expectations for a rate cut of at least 25 basis points by the Fed at its September meeting stand at 89.4%, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool, up from 80.3% a week ago. According to LSEG data, the market is pricing in 58.3 basis points of cuts by the end of the year.

St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said on Friday the Fed’s inflation and jobs goals both face risks, with policymakers needing to balance which seems the more serious threat in deciding whether it is appropriate to reduce rates.

A closely watched part of the US Treasury yield curve measuring the gap between two- and 10-year Treasury notes, seen as an indicator of economic expectations, was at a positive 52.5 basis points.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will nominate Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve out the final few months of a newly vacant seat at the Fed while the White House seeks a permanent addition to the central bank’s governing board and continues its search for a new Fed chair.

Miran is replacing Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who announced a surprise resignation last week, effective on Friday.

In a note to clients, JPMorgan chief US economist Michael Feroli said he now expects the Fed to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at its September meeting, citing signs of weakness in the labor market and uncertainty around Miran’s nomination.

The two-year US Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, advanced 2.2 basis points to 3.756% and was up 5.8 basis points on the week, on pace for its biggest weekly gain since the week ending July 3.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by David Holmes and Richard Chang)

Inflation data to test stocks as some investors brace for rally to pause

NEW YORK – A fresh look at inflation trends will test the US stock market’s rally in the coming week, with some investors saying equities are primed for a potential pullback after rocketing to records.

The benchmark S&P 500 ended on Friday up more than 8% on the year and on the cusp of all-time high levels, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was at a record, as stocks rebounded from declines following a weak employment report earlier this month.

Strategists at firms including Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley have recently said the market could be poised for some level of pullback after a largely unabated climb over the past four months, which has pushed valuations to historically expensive levels as a seasonally treacherous period for stocks begins.

The monthly US consumer price index report, due on Tuesday, could cause volatility. Data showing higher-than-expected inflation could undermine the growing expectation for impending interest rate cuts.

“I do think the market is set up for a bit of a pullback,” said Dominic Pappalardo, chief multi-asset strategist at Morningstar Wealth. “There’s a lot of concern bubbling underneath.”

The S&P 500 has surged 28% since its low for the year in April, as investor fears about a tariff-induced recession calmed after President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement earlier that month had set off extreme asset volatility.

The index is trading at over 22 times its earnings estimates for the next year, well above its long-term average P/E ratio of 15.8 after recently reaching its highest valuation in over four years, according to LSEG Datastream.

Investors are also wary of risks posed by the calendar. Over the past 35 years, August and September have ranked as the worst-performing months for the S&P 500, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. The index has declined an average of 0.6% in August and 0.8% in September — the only months of negative average performance for the index during that time period.

“The combination of a softer payroll number with concerns of tariff-related inflation could be the recipe for … a correction, especially in the seasonally weak third quarter,” Morgan Stanley equity strategist Michael Wilson said in a note this week. Still, Wilson said his 12-month outlook was bullish, adding “we’re buyers of pullbacks.”

The CPI for July is expected to have climbed 2.8% on an annual basis, according to a Reuters poll of economists. Investors will be watching to see if Trump’s tariffs on imports are translating into higher prices after the June CPI report suggested levies were impacting the prices of some goods.

Market bets on Fed rate cuts rose following the recent weak jobs data as investors expect the central bank will ease monetary policy to help shore up the labor market. Fed funds futures indicate an over 90% chance the Fed will cut at its next meeting in September, with at least two cuts priced in for this year, LSEG data showed.

That narrative could be at risk if CPI rises more than expected, making the Fed more hesitant to cut rates, investors said.

“If the CPI suggests that the market got a little ahead of itself, that can create volatility,” said Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones. “But if it’s not worse than feared … that can further reinforce that we are now in an inflection point for the Fed.”

The prospect of higher tariffs and the economic fallout from those levies already instituted by the Trump administration has been a persistent theme clouding markets, but stocks have managed to rise to records despite the uncertainty.

Higher tariffs on imports from dozens of countries took effect on Thursday, raising the average US import duty to its highest in a century, while the president also this week announced plans for levies on semiconductor chips and pharmaceutical imports.

China could face a potential tariff increase on Tuesday unless Trump approves an extension of a prior truce.

The impact of higher tariffs on the economy could take a while to show up, and “the market has kind of ignored the potential negative impact of this friction to the economy,” said Matt Rowe, senior portfolio manager at Man Group.

“The market has gotten comfortable with tariffs being kind of a non-event, which I don’t think is correct,” Rowe said.

(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Sandra Maler)

UPDATE 3-White House to clarify tariffs for gold bars as industry stops flying bullion to US

US ruling implies 1 kg gold bars fall under broad import tariffs

Ruling is issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection service

Swiss refinery, some non-Swiss industry players stop US deliveries

Gold market hopes to see the ruling reversed by the White House

Recasts with White House remarks, Comex gold futures reaction in paragraphs 1, 3-4

By Polina Devitt

LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) – The White House plans to clarify what its official called misinformation about import tariffs for gold bars amid uncertainty, which saw some industry players pausing deliveries of bullion to the United States.

According to a ruling on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) service’s website on Friday, Washington may place the most widely traded gold bullion bars in the United States under country-specific import tariffs, a move that would roil the metal’s global supply chains.

The White House intends to issue an executive order in the near future “clarifying misinformation” about tariffs on gold bars and other specialty products, the White House official told Reuters on Friday.

U.S. gold futures pared gains after the White House comment. They were last up 0.1% at $3,457 per ounce, reducing a premium over spot gold XAU=, the global benchmark, which was steady at $3,398. GOL/

The CBP ruling refers to cast gold bars from Switzerland, the world’s biggest bullion refining and transit hub, which is now subject to U.S. import tariffs of 39%.

The CBP said that the correct HS customs code to use when supplying 1 kg bullion bars and 100 troy ounce bullion bars, the most traded sizes in the U.S. futures market, to the U.S. would be 7108.13.5500 and not 7108.12.10.

However, Washington included only the latter code in the list of products excluded from country-specific import tariffs in April, with 7108.13.5500 not on the list.

The Swiss Association of Precious Metals Manufacturers and Traders (ASFCMP) said in a statement that the clarification applied to any country delivering these bars to the U.S.

“The United States is a longstanding market for us, so this is a blow for the industry and for Switzerland,” Christoph Wild, president of the ASFCMP, told Reuters.

“With a tariff of 39%, exports of gold bars will be definitely stopped to the U.S,” Wild said.

While Switzerland is the refining and transit hub, Britain is home to the world’s largest over-the-counter gold trading hub, and South Africa and Canada are among major gold miners.

“Likely imposing 39% tariffs on Swiss kilobars is akin to pouring sand into an otherwise well-functioning engine. I say “likely”…the possibility remains that this is an error,” said independent analyst Ross Norman.

A major gold refinery in Switzerland stopped deliveries to the U.S. after seeing the CBP ruling, a top manager at the refinery told Reuters, while a gold logistics specialist said some other industry players outside Switzerland did the same.

The White House’s upcoming executive order “should hopefully clear things up,” said the logistics source.

Protecting the U.S. gold futures during this uncertainty are high stocks of gold in Comex-owned warehouses GC-STX-COMEX, after massive inflows over December-March as traders hedged against the possibility of broad U.S. tariffs hitting bullion imports.

“The COMEX inventories currently amount to 86% of open interest – against a more normal 40-45% – so there is no liquidity issue at present,” said StoneX analyst Rhona O’Connell.

(Reporting by Polina Devitt;
Additional reporting by John Revill and Andrea Shalal;
Editing by Veronica Brown, Louise Heavens and Sharon Singleton, Kirsten Donovan)

((polina.devitt@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: polina.devitt.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

UPDATE 7-Oil steadies on reports of US-Russia deal, ends week about 5% lower

US, Russia aim to reach a deal to halt the war in Ukraine

Latest US tariffs raise concerns over economic activity

Trump threatens further sanctions on buyers of Russian oil

US oil rig count rises by one to 411

Updates with CFTC data

By Arathy Somasekhar

HOUSTON, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Oil held steady on Friday as markets awaited a meeting in coming days between Russian president Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, but prices marked their steepest weekly losses since late June on a tariff-hit economic outlook.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled 16 cents, or 0.2%, higher at $66.59 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 were unchanged at $63.88.

Brent fell 4.4% over the week, while WTI finished 5.1% lower than last Friday’s close.

U.S. crude fell over 1% earlier in the session after Bloomberg News reported that Washington and Moscow were aiming to reach a deal to halt the war in Ukraine that would lock in Russia’s occupation of territory seized during its military invasion.

U.S. and Russian officials are working towards an agreement on territories for a planned summit meeting between Trump and Putin as early as next week, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The potential meeting raises expectations of a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine, which could lead to eased sanctions on Russia, and comes as trade tensions have been on the rise between Trump and buyers of Russian oil.

This week, Trump threatened to increase tariffs on India if it kept purchasing Russian oil. Trump also said China, the largest buyer of Russian crude, could be hit with tariffs similar to those levied against Indian imports.

“Various non-oil considerations are at play, including fears over the impact of tariffs and the headlines flying over the last few days regarding a Trump and Putin meeting in the near term,” said Neil Crosby, an energy market analyst at Sparta Commodities.

“Headline risk is particularly strong currently with flip-flopping regarding who will turn up to a meeting over Ukraine and under what circumstances.”

Higher U.S. tariffs on imports from a host of trade partners went into effect on Thursday, raising concern over economic activity and demand for crude oil, ANZ Bank analysts said in a note.

OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September, the latest in a series of accelerated output hikes to regain market share, adding to supply.

The U.S. oil rig count, an indicator of future supply, rose by one to 411 this week.

“Bearish sentiment has returned this week as key OPEC+ members announced a second ‘quadruple’ output unwind for September (thus fully restoring their extra voluntary cuts of 2.2 mmb/d) and President Trump’s sweeping import tariffs took effect against most countries,” analysts at FGE NexantECA said.

Trump on Thursday also said he will nominate Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve out the final few months of a newly vacant seat at the Federal Reserve, fuelling expectations of a more dovish policy ahead.

Lower interest rates reduce consumer borrowing costs and can boost economic growth and demand for oil.

The dollar firmed on Friday but headed for a weekly fall. A stronger dollar hurts demand for dollar-denominated crude from foreign buyers.

Money managers cut their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions in the week to August 5, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said.

(Additional reporting by Colleen Howe in Beijing and Ahmad Ghaddar in London; Editing by David Goodman, Marguerita Choy and Nia Williams)

((Robert.Harvey@thomsonreuters.com; +447552256587;))

Gold futures hit record high after US tariff report

Gold futures jumped to a fresh high on Friday following a report that the United States has imposed tariffs on imports of one-kilo gold bars, while spot gold was headed for a second straight weekly rise on tariff turmoil and US interest rate-cut hopes.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was down 0.2% at USD 3,389.37 per ounce, as of 0104 GMT, after hitting its highest since July 23 earlier in the session. Bullion is up 0.8% so far this week.

* US gold futures for December delivery were up 1.6% at USD 3,509.10, after hitting an all-time high of USD 3,534.10.

* The United States has imposed tariffs on imports of one-kilo gold bars, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing a letter from Customs Border Protection.

* The letter, dated July 31, said one-kilo and 100-ounce gold bars should be classified under a customs code subject to levels, according to the newspaper, which added that the move could impact Switzerland, the world’s largest refining hub.

* US President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs on imports from dozens of countries kicked in on Thursday, leaving major trade partners such as Switzerland, Brazil and India hurriedly searching for a better deal.

* Gold is often used as a safe store of value during times of political and financial uncertainty.

* SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.66% to 959.09 metric tons on Thursday from 952.79 tons on Wednesday.

* Last week, weaker US payrolls data boosted rate-cut bets, with the market now pricing in an over 91% chance of a 25-basis-point reduction next month, as per CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

* Risks to the job market have increased, but it remains too soon to commit to rate cuts before the next meeting of the Federal Reserve, with key data still to come and inflation still expected to rise in coming months, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said.

* Elsewhere, spot silver fell 0.3% to USD 38.19 per ounce, platinum rose 1.3% to USD 1,350.98 and palladium eased 0.4% to USD 1,146.48.

(Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

Oil set for steepest weekly losses since June as tariffs cloud demand outlook

Oil prices were little changed in early Asian hours on Friday, but were headed for their steepest weekly losses since late-June, as investors expressed concern over the impact to the global economy from tariffs that kicked into effect on Thursday.

Brent crude futures were down three cents to USD 66.40 a barrel at 0050 GMT, on track to decline more than 4% week-over-week. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down six cents, or 0.1%, to USD 63.82 a barrel, set to fall more than 5% on a weekly basis.

Higher US tariffs against a host of trade partners went into effect on Thursday. The tariffs raised concerns of weaker economic activity, which would hit demand for crude oil, ANZ Bank analysts said in a note.

Oil prices were already reeling from the OPEC+ group’s decision last weekend to fully unwind its largest tranche of output cuts in September, months ahead of target.

At Thursday’s close, WTI futures had dropped for six consecutive sessions, matching a declining streak last recorded in December 2023. If prices settle lower on Friday, it will be the longest streak since August 2021.

Adding more pressure on the oil market, the Kremlin on Thursday confirmed Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet US President Donald Trump in the coming days, raising expectations of a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine.

Additional US tariffs against India for buying Russian crude oil helped limit the decline in oil prices to some extent. The move, however, is unlikely to reduce the flow of Russian oil to outside markets in a material way, StoneX analysts wrote to clients on Thursday.

Trump on Wednesday also said China, the largest buyer of Russian crude oil, could be hit with tariffs similar to those being levied against Indian imports.

(Reporting by Shariq Khan in New York; Editing by Tom Hogue)

S&P 500 eases with Eli Lilly; Nasdaq manages record closing high

NEW YORK – The Dow and S&P 500 eased on Thursday, as shares of Eli Lilly dropped after data from its oral weight loss drug disappointed, while the Nasdaq eked out a record closing high.

Just before the session’s end, US President Donald Trump said he will nominate Council of Economic Advisors Chairman Stephen Miran to serve out the remaining term of Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler.

Miran is due to serve in the role until January 31, 2026, while Trump continues a search for a permanent replacement.

Earlier, investors digested a Bloomberg report that Fed Governor Christopher Waller was Trump’s top candidate for the US central bank’s chair post.

Trump has been critical of current Chair Jerome Powell for holding off on cutting borrowing costs.

Eli Lilly, which also raised its full-year profit and sales forecast, fell after the orforglipron drug data. The stock ended down 14.1%.

Shares of Fortinet also fell, with the stock finishing 22% lower, after the cybersecurity firm gave a revenue forecast below Wall Street estimates.

“The market rally is beginning to look a little bit tired here. We ran up on earnings, and of course, the market was basically ignoring a lot of the tariff news,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.

Trump’s higher tariffs on imports from dozens of countries kicked in on Thursday, raising the average US import duty to its highest in a century.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 224.48 points, or 0.51%, to 43,968.64, the S&P 500 lost 5.06 points, or 0.08%, to 6,340.00 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 73.27 points, or 0.35%, to 21,242.70.

The S&P 500 has hit 15 record closing highs this year, while the Nasdaq has posted 17 all-time closing highs so far in 2025.

Among other decliners, chipmaker Intel was down 3.1% after Trump called for the immediate resignation of new Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, calling him “highly conflicted” due to his ties to Chinese firms.

Helping the Nasdaq, Apple shares rose 3.2% after the latest tariff salvo from Trump largely exempted industry heavyweights from his threat to impose 100% levy on chips and semiconductors.

The US president announced a tariff of about 100% on imports of semiconductors, but said it would not apply to companies that are manufacturing in the US or have committed to do so.

Rate cut expectations remained largely the same after the day’s data on the labor market.

Weekly initial jobless claims rose 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 226,000, the highest level since the week ended July 5 and slightly above the 221,000 estimate of economists polled by Reuters, according to the data.

Market expectations for a September rate cut of at least 25 basis points from the Fed stood at 93.2%, down slightly from the 94.6% in the prior session and well above the 37.7% from a week ago, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.01-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 232 new highs and 80 new lows on the NYSE.

On the Nasdaq, 1,944 stocks rose and 2,622 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.35-to-1 ratio.

Volume on US exchanges was 17.40 billion shares, compared with the 18.23 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

(Additional reporting by Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Aurora Ellis)

Oil prices fall as OPEC+ output hikes counter Russia disruption concerns

Oil prices slipped on Tuesday as rising OPEC+ supply and worries of weaker global demand countered concern about US President Donald Trump’s threats to India over its Russian oil purchases.

Brent crude futures settled USD 1.12, or 1.63%, lower to USD 67.64 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude slipped USD 1.13, or 1.7%, to USD 65.16. Both benchmarks settled to their lowest in five weeks.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, together known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September, a move that will end its most recent output cut earlier than planned.

“The significant increase in OPEC supplies is weighing on the market,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.

Also weighing on prices, US services sector activity unexpectedly flatlined in July with little change in orders and a further weakening in employment even as input costs climbed by the most in nearly three years, underscoring the ongoing drag of uncertainty over the Trump administration’s tariff policy on businesses.

“The market now is going to see if India and China agree to substantially reduce the purchases of Russian crude oil, thereby looking for alternative supplies elsewhere,” Lipow said.

Trump on Tuesday again threatened higher tariffs on Indian goods over the country’s Russian oil purchases over the next 24 hours. Trump also said declining energy prices could pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt the war in Ukraine. New Delhi called Trump’s threat “unjustified” and vowed to protect its economic interests, deepening a trade rift between the two countries.

Oil’s move since Trump’s threat indicates that traders are skeptical of a supply disruption happening, John Evans of oil broker PVM said in a report. He questioned whether Trump would risk higher oil prices.

“I’d call it a stable market for oil,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS. “Assume this likely continues until we figure out what the US president announces in respect to Russia later this week and how those buyers would react.”

India is the biggest buyer of seaborne crude from Russia, importing about 1.75 million bpd from January to June this year, up 1% from a year ago, according to data provided to Reuters by trade sources.

US crude inventories fell by 4.2 million barrels last week, sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures said on Tuesday. The US Energy Information Administration is due to release weekly US inventory data on Wednesday, respectively.

(By Nicole Jao; Additional reporting by Enes Tunagur and Alex Lawler in London, Anjana Anil in Bengaluru and Siyi Liu in Singapore; Editing by Paul Simao and Nick Zieminski)

Gold hits near 2-week peak, investors focus on Fed appointments

Gold prices climbed to a near two-week high on Tuesday, supported by growing expectations of US interest rate cuts, while investors awaited President Donald Trump’s decision on Federal Reserve appointments.

Spot gold was up 0.2% at USD 3,380.20 per ounce by 01:55 p.m. ET (1755 GMT), after hitting its highest level since July 24 earlier. US gold futures settled 0.2% higher at USD 3,434.7.

The dollar edged lower, making greenback-priced gold more affordable for foreign currency holders.

Markets are currently pricing in two rate cuts by year-end, beginning in September, after Friday’s unexpectedly weak June hiring data, following which Trump fired the commissioner of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

“The market is still reeling from last week’s data-heavy week alongside the Trump administration’s decision to replace the head of the BLS,” said Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities.

“Both of these things play into gold’s strength, and certainly corroborate our view that the US dollar is partly losing its store of value function.”

Gold is used as a safe store of value during uncertainty, and thrives in a low-interest-rate environment as it yields no interest.

Meanwhile, Trump said he would announce decisions soon on a short-term replacement for Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler, who announced her resignation on Friday, as well as his pick for the next Fed chair.

Spot silver rose 1.2% to USD 37.85 per ounce, its highest level since July 30.

“I’m more bullish on silver than gold right now. I think silver could break above USD 40, and if it does, the next target would likely be around USD 42,” said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.

Platinum lost 1% to USD 1,316.35 and palladium shed 2.1% to USD 1,181.21.

South Africa-based miner Sibanye-Stillwater has asked the United States to consider a tariff on Russian palladium imports to support the long-term viability of US supplies.

(Reporting by Sarah Qureshi in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Sahal Muhammed)

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