Gold retreats from five-week high as investors book profits
Spot gold fell 0.3% to $3,385.20 per ounce by 0932 GMT. Earlier in the session, bullion hit its highest since June 17.
U.S. gold futures were down 0.3% at $3,396.10.
Gold prices edged lower amid profit-booking but remained close to the five-week high due to lingering uncertainty ahead of the August 1 tariff deadline, said Jigar Trivedi, a senior commodity analyst at Reliance Securities.
"Gold is likely to stay bullish. A strong resistance is seen near $3,420. On the flip side, $3,350 is a support," he said.
The U.S. dollar index steadied against its rivals. A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced gold more expensive for other currency holders.
European Union diplomats said the bloc is exploring broader counter-measures against the United States as prospects for a trade agreement with Washington diminish. Trump has threatened 30% tariffs on European imports if no deal is reached before the August 1 deadline.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration prioritises the quality of trade deals over timing.
Focus is also on the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting scheduled for next week, where the central bank is expected to hold interest rates steady for now and potentially begin cuts in October.
Gold tends to perform well in a low-interest-rate environment and during times of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Spot silver fell 0.3% to $38.74 per ounce, platinum was down 0.4% to $1,433.20 and palladium declined 1.8% to $1,242.54.
Russia's Nornickel, the leading global producer of palladium, lowered its palladium output forecast, now expecting between 2.677 and 2.729 million ounces compared with the earlier estimate of 2.704-2.756 million ounces.
(Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Ishaan Arora; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Louise Heavens)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
15 minutes ago
- The National
Exporters increasingly find 'alternative markets' ahead of Aug 1 tariff deadline
With US tariffs climbing – particularly on politically sensitive goods like steel, electric vehicles and pharmaceuticals – some firms have begun rerouting exports to more predictable, lower-tariff markets, though not yet at scale. The question now is how widespread it will become, and at what economic cost. India offers an early example. The Asian subcontinent is facing tariffs of up to 26 per cent – among the steepest imposed on any major economy – on goods coming into the US under President Donald Trump 's Liberation Day levies. India's $32 billion jewellery and gems industry is looking to alternative markets, especially the Middle East. That shift will be on show at Sajex 2025, a jewellery trade fair set for September in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Backed by the Indian government and industry bodies, the event is part of a broader push to establish the Middle East as a long-term market for Indian exports. India, a global leader in diamond processing and jewellery manufacturing, regards Saudi Arabia as a big growth opportunity, especially as trade tensions with the US resurface. The kingdom's jewellery market was estimated at $4.6 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow strongly through 2030. Tariff push For many countries, US tariff increases under the current administration have remained modest so far, typically around 10 per cent, whereas two dozen or so face substantially higher levies. So, the impact of tariffs is concentrated but weighty. For now, many exporters are coping with this by stomaching a squeeze in their margins, negotiating lower prices with suppliers, or taking advantage of weaker domestic currencies, which help to offset some of the added cost. But if tariffs rise permanently to above 10 per cent to15 per cent, it will lead to economics shifting in many industries. At that point, rethinking where and how to export becomes unavoidable. China, which had faced tariffs as high as 145 per cent on some goods entering the US, responded by accelerating shipments ahead of tariff deadlines and redirecting exports to other markets. That redirection has been greatest to those economies with a free trade agreement with China, or where import penetration was below average. The Trump administration announced new levies in April but delayed implementation twice – first to July, then again to August – prompting a rush to beat the clock. Some of those duties have since been eased under a temporary trade truce agreed between Washington and Beijing in London. Another meeting is set to take place soon in Stockholm. Still, Chinese exports to the US fell 10.9 per cent year-on-year in dollar terms during the first half of the year. Over the same period, exports to Asean countries – some of which Washington claims are being used to reroute Chinese goods and bypass tariffs – rose 13 per cent. In June alone, total Chinese exports rose 5.8 per cent in dollar terms, driven in part by firms racing to move goods before tariffs take effect in August. The surge offered a short-term lift to China's economy, which has leaned heavily on exports to compensate for weak domestic demand amid a prolonged property sector downturn. China-EU shift? While concerns persist over a wave of redirected Chinese goods entering Europe and other industrialised markets, there is little clear evidence of such a shift – at least not yet. Much of the excess appears to be heading into emerging economies, where trade oversight tends to be lighter and price remains a bigger factor in purchasing decisions. In China's case, the worry extends beyond volume. Some believe that redirected exports are state-subsidised, fuelling fears in places like the EU that competition is being distorted long before goods cross any borders. Meanwhile, on Sunday, a new trade deal was reached between the US and the EU with a 15 per tariff on most EU goods to the US, including pharmaceuticals, automobiles and semiconductors, averting a transatlantic trade war. Tariffs on metals remain unchanged. For now, changes in global trade flows are limited. One reason is that for heavily regulated or very complex products, like medical devices or automotive parts, redirecting exports tends to require compliance with new safety and certification standards. That can be time consuming and costly. Also, shifting factories across borders does not happen overnight. The semiconductor industry offers a good example. Two years ago, Taiwan's TSMC, one of the world's largest chip makers, said it planned to build a new €10 billion semiconductor plant in Germany. However, the factory is not expected to be up and running until 2027. For exporters, such delays can affect revenue. For importers, higher tariffs usually lead to higher consumer prices. In the US, this is already happening, with inflation rising to 2.7 per cent in June, ahead of forecasts, and core inflation increasing to 2.9 per cent. US retail stalwart Walmart, which imports heavily from China and Mexico, has warned that even a partial rollback of US tariffs leaves them too high to absorb. The last US-China trade war, launched in 2018, saw nearly all tariff costs passed through to American firms and consumers. History seems to be repeating itself. Macroeconomic data points to the broader fallout. A surge in imports, driven by pre-tariff stockpiling, helped drag the US economy into a 0.2 per cent annualised contraction in the first quarter of the year, the first such decline since 2022. General Motors is a case study in tariff exposure. With plants in Mexico, South Korea and Canada, the US car maker absorbed $1.1 billion in tariff costs in the second quarter, wiping out nearly a third of its adjusted profits. For now, many executives I teach at IMD are still in wait-and-see mode. Some companies are now delaying production shifts until 2026. Many cite advice to front-load exports before each tariff deadline. That has tactic worked so far. But with another deadline looming on August 1, the space for temporary fixes is closing. The deeper lesson of this moment is that volatility in trade policy is corrosive. As World Trade Organisation modelling suggests, if global tariffs rise and countries retaliate against the US, trade growth could reverse – falling from a projected 2.7 per cent gain this year to a decline of 0.5 per cent. In a world already navigating inflation, instability and slowing demand, few economies can afford another self-inflicted slowdown.
Tahawul Tech
15 minutes ago
- Tahawul Tech
Microsoft CEO addresses the recent wave of layoffs
Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, has reportedly expressed sadness over the mass layoffs the company made earlier this year, but told staff it needs to reimagine its mission for a new era. CNBC reported Nadella made the comments in a memo to staff. The news outlet explained Microsoft culled 15,000 jobs this year, with the latest round of 9,000 occurring earlier this month. After the layoffs, CNBC reported the company's stock closed above $500 for the first time on 9 July. Nadella stated the layoff decisions 'are among the most difficult we have to make'. He noted while the company is thriving, job cuts 'affect people we've worked alongside, learned from and shared countless moments with, our colleagues, teammates and friends'. Nadella called on employees to go through a process of 'unlearning' and 'learning' to meet customers' changing needs. 'We must reimagine our mission for a new era.' 'What does empowerment look like in the era of AI? It's not just about building tools for specific roles or tasks. It's about building tools that empower everyone to create their own tools. That's the shift we are driving, from a software factory to an intelligence engine empowering every person and organisation to build whatever they need to achieve.' Microsoft is making massive investments in AI. In April, it invested $1.5 billion in a minority stake in United Arab Emirates-based AI company G42, a deal giving Microsoft a seat on the board. Source: Mobile World Live: Image Credit: Microsoft
Tahawul Tech
15 minutes ago
- Tahawul Tech
Trump Administration threatens a U.S. TikTok ban
As part of its plan to see TikTok's algorithm transferred to new owners, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick reportedly stated the platform would go dark in the US if China does not agree to US ownership. Lutnick told a CNBC cable show the administration of President Donald Trump decided ByteDance-owned TikTok must 'come out of Chinese control'. 'You can't have Chinese control and have something on 100 million American phones,' he explained. 'That's just not okay.' Last month President Trump extended the deadline for the sale of TiKTok to a US entity for the third time. Lutnick said ByteDance could still have a minority stake in TikTok, but 'basically Americans will have control' over the technology and algorithm. Several entities have expressed interest in buying TikTok. TikTok's US prospects have been up in the air since legislation passed in 2024 to ban the service unless a domestic buyer was found. Former President Joe Biden and members of both political parties expressed concern it posed a national security risk. The US Supreme Court upheld the law banning the app unless it is sold to a US owner. President Trump unsuccessfully tried to ban TikTok during his first term, but did an about turn when running for his second term. He joined the platform in 2024 and credits the social media's youthful users for helping him win the presidential election in November 2024. Source: Mobile World Live Image Credit: TikTok
