Gold pauses for breath after record run on safe-haven demand

Gold prices eased on Tuesday on profit-taking but remained near record highs as investors turned to the safe-haven asset ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned announcement of sweeping tariffs on countries that have a trade imbalance with the US

Spot gold was down 0.3% at USD 3,113.43 per ounce as of 1:46 p.m. ET (1746 GMT), after hitting an all-time high of USD 3,148.88 earlier in the day.

US gold futures settled 0.1% lower at USD 3,146.

It’s “not surprising to see a little bit of profit taking, particularly given that the market had become rather overbought … I don’t really see much of a change in the fundamentals … it’s a perfect storm for gold,” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals.

Markets and consumers are waiting for details of Trump’s planned tariffs, set to be announced on Wednesday. White House aides have drafted plans for tariffs of around 20% on most US imports, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Gold, traditionally seen as a hedge against geopolitical and economic uncertainties, closed out its strongest quarter since 1986 on Monday, and climbed over USD 3,100/ounce, marking one of the most significant upswings in the precious metal’s history.

Goldman Sachs raised the probability of a US recession to 35% from 20% on Monday, and said it expected more rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Non-yielding bullion thrives in a low-interest-rate environment.

“We continue to see the gold prices moving higher,” due in part to increasing gold holdings by physically backed ETFs and robust central bank purchases, said Ryan McIntyre, senior portfolio manager at Sprott Asset Management.

On a technical basis, gold’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands above 70, indicating the metal is overbought.

Job openings fell to 7.568 million by the end of February, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a Tuesday report, compared with economists’ expectation of 7.616 million. Investors are also awaiting Friday’s non-farm payrolls report for cues on the Fed’s rate cut trajectory.

Silver fell 1.4% to USD 33.6 an ounce, platinum was down 0.8% at USD 984.64. Palladium fell 0.2% to USD 981.0.

(Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Ishaan Arora; Editing by David Evans, Vijay Kishore, and Shreya Biswas)