Gold gains on softer dollar as investors await US trade updates
Spot gold was up 0.6% at $3,368.39 per ounce, as of 0534 GMT. U.S. gold futures rose 0.5% to $3,376.
"Dollar has made a subdued start to the week, which has left the door open for gold to post gains early doors with tariff deadlines looming large," KCM Trade Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer said.
"The closer we move towards the key August 1 deadline without any new trade deals emerging, the more likely gold is to start fancying another run to towards the $3,400 level and perhaps beyond."
The dollar index (.DXY), opens new tab weakened 0.1% against its rivals, making gold less expensive for other currency holders.
Investors are eyeing developments in trade negotiations ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's August 1 deadline, as U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick remains optimistic about reaching a deal with the European Union.
Trump might visit China before going to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit between October 30 and November 1, or he could meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC event in South Korea, reports said.
At its meeting later this week, the European Central Bank is expected to hold interest rates steady at 2.0% following a string of cuts.
Last week, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he still believes that the U.S. central bank should cut rates at its policy meeting next week.
Gold, often considered a safe-haven asset during economic uncertainties, tends to do well in a low interest rate environment.
In Japan, the ruling coalition lost control of the upper house in an election on Sunday, further weakening Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power as the U.S. tariff deadline looms.
Elsewhere, spot silver gained 0.3% to $38.28 per ounce, platinum added 0.5% to $1,429.08 and palladium climbed 1.6% to $1,259.93.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
42 minutes ago
- The Independent
German court acquits satirist over social media post following Trump assassination attempt
A German court on Wednesday acquitted a satirist who was charged with having approved of an assassination attempt against Donald Trump during last year's U.S. election campaign in a social media post and disturbed the public peace. In a quickly deleted post under his alias 'El Hotzo' on X in July last year, Sebastian Hotz drew a parallel between Trump and 'the last bus' and wrote 'unfortunately just missed.' In a follow-up post, he wrote: 'I find it absolutely fantastic when fascists die.' A gunman opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, while Trump was campaigning for president last July, grazing Trump's ear and killing one of his supporters in the crowd. Trump went on to win the White House in November. Prosecutors charged Hotz with approval of offenses. At a one-day trial at the Tiergarten district court in Berlin, prosecutors called for the 29-year-old to be handed a 6,000-euro ($7,030) fine. They argued that the posts fell into the category of hate crimes and, because Hotz has nearly 740,000 followers on X, could disturb the public peace, German news agency dpa reported. Hotz argued that what a satirist says should be understood as a joke, and that 'playing with provocation' is his job. Judge Andrea Wilms said in her ruling that Hotz's post was satire that should go unpunished, even if the comments may have been tasteless. She argued that no one would feel called upon to commit acts of violence by 'such clearly satirical utterances,' according to a court statement. The German Journalists' Association earlier this week criticized the trial as excessive and said that the case should be closed, arguing that satirical freedom should be interpreted generously. It noted that public broadcaster RBB already terminated its work with Hotz as a result of the post.
The Independent
42 minutes ago
- The Independent
Key things to know about Trump's ‘massive' trade deal with Japan
Japan agreed a trade deal that would see the US cut import tariffs on automobiles from the East Asian country from 25 per cent to 15 per cent. The deal is a significant boost to the Japanese automobile industry which sends over a quarter of its total exports to the US market. American president Donald Trump described it as the 'largest TRADE DEAL in history' and an 'exciting time for the United States of America'. Here are the key features of the agreement. Japanese investment in US economy The deal commits Japan to investing $550bn in the US economy. Prime minister Shigeru Ishiba confirmed the deal had been struck on Wednesday, just days after his ruling Liberal Democratic Party suffered a major loss in a key upper house election. Despite facing calls to step down in the wake of the loss, Mr Ishiba vowed to move forward with the agreement, insisting it didn't compromise Japan's agricultural interests. 'This agreement does not sacrifice Japanese agriculture,' he said, adding that US rice imports would remain within existing quotas. American access to Japanese market The agreement expands market access for American goods like automobiles, rice and other agricultural products. The full terms are still to be made public, however. Mr Ishiba said he would closely review the agreement before releasing it, noting his chief trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, had made eight trips to Washington since April to negotiate with treasury secretary Scott Bessent and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick. Stock and currency market reactions Japanese markets reacted positively to the deal, with Nikkei rising two per cent in early trading, led by automakers. Toyota's shares jumped 10 per cent while Honda gained nine per cent. However, Japanese bond futures fell sharply, with the 10-year benchmark dropping 0.92 yen to its lowest since March. The yen initially surged to a near two-week high before falling amid reports of Mr Ishiba's impending resignation. The dollar index fell for the third consecutive day. 'There's some dovishness infecting the market at the moment around the US dollar,' Michael McCarthy, market strategist at Moomoo Australia, said. Criticism from American auto industry The agreement drew criticism from American carmakers who argued that the deal gave preferential treatment to Japanese imports. 'Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no US content than the tariff imposed on North American-built vehicles… is a bad deal for US industry and US auto workers,' said Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council. Tariffs on vehicles made in North America remain at 25 per cent. Exclusion of metals and defence The new agreement does not address the longstanding issue of 50 per cent American tariff on Japanese steel and aluminium. It also excludes provisions related to defence budgets. Mr Trump, however, indicated that Japan could join a proposed US-backed natural gas pipeline project in Alaska. 'They're all set to make that deal now,' he said during brief remarks at the White House. More deals to follow? Mr Trump said that EU trade negotiators would arrive in Washington on Wednesday, signalling momentum for further deals in the coming days. Mr Bessent suggested that the US was open to extending the tariff negotiation deadline of 1 August if progress was made in talks with partners. The US deal with Japan follows months of tension over trade and may help stabilise economic relations between the allies. In 2024, total two-way trade stood at nearly $230bn, with Japan holding a surplus of approximately $70bn. Japan remains the largest foreign investor in the US, with over $2tn in American assets.
The Independent
42 minutes ago
- The Independent
Children face two-hour limits on Snapchat and TikTok as government cracks down on ‘compulsive' screen time
Children could face two-hour limits on social media like TikTok and Snapchat as part of a government plan to crack down on 'compulsive' phone use, the science and technology secretary has said. Peter Kyle, who is due to make an announcement in the autumn, warned of the effects on young people's sleep and their ability to focus on studying for exams, saying he was concerned about"the overall amount of time kids spend on these apps" as well as their content. Among the ideas being seriously considered are a two-hour cap per platform, while a night-time or school-time curfew has also been discussed, according to reports. Last year Australia passed a law to ban all under 16s from social media, although the UK is not expected to go that far. Mr Kyle said he was 'looking very carefully about the overall time kids spend on these apps'. "I think some parents feel a bit disempowered about how to actually make their kids healthier online,' he told Sky News. "I think some kids feel that sometimes there is so much compulsive behaviour with interaction with the apps they need some help just to take control of their online lives and those are things I'm looking at really carefully. "We talk a lot about a healthy childhood offline. We need to do the same online. I think sleep is very important, to be able to focus on studying is very important," he added. He added that he wanted to stop children spending hours viewing content which "isn't criminal, but it's unhealthy, the overuse of some of these apps". "I think we can incentivise the companies and we can set a slightly different threshold that will just tip the balance in favour of parents not always being the ones who are just ripping phones out of the kids' hands and having a really awkward, difficult conversation around it," he added. It comes after Angela Rayner warned on Tuesday that time spent online is a major factor in the weakening social cohesion in the UK, along with deprivation and immigration. Warning that the UK faces a repeat of last year's summer riots unless 'the government shows it can address people's concerns', the deputy prime minister said that the issue was having a 'profound impact on society'. She told colleagues: "Economic insecurity, the rapid pace of de-industrialisation, immigration and the impacts on local communities and public services, technological change and the amount of time people were spending alone online, and declining trust in institutions was having a profound impact on society."
