LONDON: Safe-haven gold held its ground on Wednesday, aided by tariff uncertainty and a cooler inflation report that keep bets for a US rate cut intact.
Spot gold was up 0.1% at $2,917.93 an ounce as of 1258 GMT. US gold futures inched up 0.1% $2,923.80. Data showed that US consumer price index rose 0.2% last month after accelerating 0.5% in January. However, the improvement is likely temporary against the backdrop of aggressive tariffs on imports that are expected to raise the cost of most goods in the months ahead.
“Gold has been resilient but stuck in a range in recent weeks; whether it can break higher on this CPI report will be an important signal,” said Tai Wong, an independent metals trader.
“In the medium term, the uncertainty will keep gold supported so any sharp dips will be bought.”
On the trade policies front, President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs on all US steel and aluminium imports took effect on Wednesday, stepping up a campaign to reorder global trade in favour of the US and drawing swift retaliation from Europe.
Last year, the Federal Reserve reduced interest rates by 100 basis points. Financial markets expect the Fed to resume cutting rates in June because of the deteriorating economic outlook, after pausing in January.
Non-yielding gold thrives in a low interest environment and is considered a safe investment during periods of economic and geopolitical turmoil. The US Producer Price Index (PPI) and weekly jobless claims data due on Thursday are the next data sets on investors’ radar.
Spot silver added 0.7% to $33.16 an ounce. Silver should outperform gold in our base case of a modest recovery in manufacturing activity, although a sharper slowdown in US growth is a key risk, UBS said in a note. Platinum gained 1.5% at $990.00 and palladium rose by 0.7% to $952.23.
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