Gold eases as dollar holds ground, focus on Trump tariffs

Gold prices slipped after hitting a record high earlier on Wednesday as the dollar rose, while US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats kept investors on edge.

Spot gold lost 0.2% to USD 2,928.49 per ounce as of 2:19 p.m. ET (19:19 GMT). Bullion surged to an all-time high of USD 2,946.85/oz earlier in the session.

US gold futures settled 0.4% lower at USD 2,936.10.

The dollar index rose 0.1% against its rivals, making gold more expensive for other currency holders.

“We are in a state of unusual-heightened uncertainty… the catalyst is the tariffs and trade talks or threats that are going on around the world,” which is supporting the prices, said Paul Wong, market strategist at Sprott Asset Management.

Trump said on Tuesday that he intends to impose auto tariffs “in the neighborhood of 25%”, along with similar duties on semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports.

This follows his recent move to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese imports and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium earlier this month.

Bullion is seen as a safeguard against geopolitical risks and inflation, but rising interest rates diminish its attractiveness as a non-yielding asset.

Fed officials remain uncertain about the impact tariffs might have on inflation.

Traders currently see at least one 25-basis-point rate cut and a 44% chance of an additional lowering by December, according to LSEG data.

After Donald Trump’s inauguration, Federal Reserve officials expressed concern about inflation, as firms were expected to raise prices to offset import tariffs, policymakers noted at their January meeting.

Following the inauguration of Donald Trump, officials from the Federal Reserve voiced concerns over potential inflation, as they anticipated firms raising prices to offset import tariffs, according to notes from their meeting in January.

Among other metals, spot silver, used in electrical components, shed 0.4% to USD 32.74 an ounce, aiming to challenge a 10-year high.

Platinum declined 1.7% to USD 970.45 and palladium eased 1.6% to USD 971.47.

“Although the imposition of tariffs could hurt silver’s industrial demand, it could still push higher from a valuation perspective,” said Han Tan, Exinity Group chief market analyst.

(Reporting by Daksh Grover, Sarah Qureshi, and Sherin Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas, Shailesh Kuber, and Mohammed Safi Shamsi)