Gold

Major stock indexes rallied, the dollar gained against the euro and other currencies while safe-haven gold dropped on Wednesday as investors grew optimistic about a possible de-escalation in the trade war between the U.S. and China.

“There seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel here in terms of the trade war,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.

The euro was last down 0.36% against the dollar at $1.1379. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.49% to 142.28.

U.S. Treasury yields declined after the U.S. administration’s signal of a potential respite in the U.S.-China trade war and Trump’s softening stance on Powell.

Source – Reuters

As economic uncertainty deepens worldwide, gold prices have notched more and more record highs.

The going price for New York spot gold hit a record $3,424.24 per troy ounce — the standard for measuring precious metals — as of close Monday. That’s about $1,097 higher than a year ago.

The price of spot gold is up more than 30% since the start of 2025, per the data firm FactSet. By contrast, the stock market has tumbled. The benchmark S&P 500 is down over 12% this year.

Gold futures also reached a record early Tuesday, briefly surpassing the $3,500 mark for the first time before falling closer to $3,444 by mid-morning.

Source – The Associated Press

While U.S. tariffs and other factors have added fire to already hot demand for gold as an investment, the impact is different for gold jewellery, according to Andrew Naylor

“In markets like Dubai, this creates a two-fold effect: on one hand, you see stronger interest in gold as a safe-haven asset, on the other, high prices dampen jewellery demand.”

“There are no potential customers nowadays because of the gold prices,” said Fahad Khan, a sales representative at retailer Damas Jewellery.

“Higher gold prices are likely to dampen demand for jewellery, in a classic example of how the best cure for high prices is high prices,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

Source – Reuters

“Gold has again moved to yet another record, with its safe-haven reputation shining bright,” said analysts at RBC Capital Markets. “With the uncertainty related to Fed independence, gold continues to benefit as a safe-haven, and one not tied to the U.S. dollar.”

Gold has been soaring since early April when investors, alarmed by Mr. Trump’s tariffs, starting selling Treasury bonds. On Tuesday, the spot price of a troy ounce of gold briefly reached above $3,500 before slipping lower.

Source – New York Times

Spot gold prices surged as high as $3,500.05 per ounce on Tuesday, surpassing the $3,500/oz milestone for the first time.

“With all the geopolitical tensions, central banks do want to diversify away from the dollar and have something that won’t be sanctioned … gold is one of those asset classes that could fit the bill,” Marex analyst Edward Meir said.

Source – Reuters

The SPDR Gold Shares ETF was up 3.3% in morning trading, according to FactSet data, at last check. That brought its year-to-date gain to a massive 30.6%.

Source – Market Watch