Gold prices declined modestly in Asian trading on Thursday, buoyed by a slight pickup in risk appetite after U.S. President Donald Trump minimized fears of an imminent dismissal of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Other metals also showed restrained movements, pressured by a firming dollar that held close to a three-week peak following persistent inflation data from June.
Still, demand for gold as a safe haven remained solid amid rising uncertainty surrounding Trump’s upcoming tariff measures, set to begin in just over two weeks. Platinum and silver continued to outperform gold for the most part.
Spot gold edged down 0.2% to $3,342.09 per ounce, while September gold futures slipped 0.3% to $3,348.40 by 00:49 ET (04:49 GMT).
Trump: firing Powell ‘highly unlikely’
On Wednesday, Trump stated it was “highly unlikely” that he would fire Fed Chair Powell, though he left open the possibility if evidence of fraud surfaced related to the Fed’s renovation project.
Concerns around Powell’s potential removal had escalated after Trump intensified his criticism of the Fed Chair, and several Republican allies called for Powell’s immediate ouster.
Trump has accused Powell of acting too slowly on cutting U.S. interest rates, urging swift action to avert economic harm. Meanwhile, Powell and other Fed officials have indicated rates are likely to stay steady until the effects of Trump’s tariffs on inflation become clearer.
Trump’s recent downplaying of his efforts against Powell helped lift market sentiment slightly, dampening some short-term gold demand and providing a boost to U.S. stocks.
Dollar steady as rate cut bets fade; focus shifts to retail and unemployment data
Markets widely anticipate the Fed to maintain current interest rates at its upcoming meeting, particularly after inflation figures released this week showed price pressures remained sticky in June.
This outlook supported the dollar, which hovered near three-week highs following steady gains over the last week.
Attention now turns to retail sales and jobless claims data expected later Thursday, which will offer fresh insights into the health of the U.S. economy.
Among metals, spot platinum inched up to $1,424.55 per ounce, with analysts at ANZ noting the metal’s close above $1,400 on Wednesday could signal further gains.
Spot silver rose 0.2% to $37.9945 per ounce.
Copper futures on the London Metal Exchange were steady at $9,629.75 per ton, while U.S. COMEX copper futures ticked up slightly to $5.5267 per pound.
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