Gold at over one-month high as weak dollar, bond yields lift appeal
ADVERTISEMENT Spot gold was little changed at $3,389.98 per ounce, as of 0503 GMT. Earlier in the session, bullion hit its highest level since June 17.
U.S. gold futures held their ground at $3,402.90.
"Gold's move on the upside has been pretty much supported by positive technicals and as well as reinforced by a broad base of dollar weakness," OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said. The U.S. dollar index was hovering near a more than one-week low against its rivals, making greenback-priced gold less expensive for other currency holders. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields hit a more than one-week low on Monday.
ADVERTISEMENT The European Union is exploring a broader set of possible countermeasures against the United States as prospects for an acceptable trade agreement with Washington fade, according to EU diplomats. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened 30% duties on imports from Europe if no agreement is signed before the August 1 deadline.
ADVERTISEMENT "There could be a possibility that U.S. and the respective trading partners may not agree to the terms and condition and that potentially could see a bit of uncertainty and there could be some hedging activities by market participants going forward," Wong said.
Also on radar, the European Central Bank is expected to hold interest rates steady at 2.0% following a string of cuts at the end of its policy meeting on July 24. The U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy is scheduled for next week.
ADVERTISEMENT Traders are pricing about a 59% chance of a rate cut by the Fed in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Gold tends to perform well in a low-interest-rate environment.
Spot silver fell 0.5% to $38.71 per ounce, platinum added 0.3% to $1,442.55 and palladium fell 1.3% to $1,250.19.
(You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Trump sending $2000 stimulus check in August? Truth about eligibility and payment date
Rumors about President Donald Trump planning to send a stimulus check, worth $2000, in August are doing the rounds on social media. This speculation has caused confusion among Americans hoping for financial relief. Donald Trump speaks about not using an autopen, after signing a proclamation officially declaring this National Purple Heart Day(REUTERS) But despite viral posts and several unverified articles making bold claims, there is no official confirmation from the US government or IRS about such a payment. What's actually happening? At the heart of the chatter is a July 19 article by Rick Adams, suggesting that lawmakers are considering a fourth round of stimulus payments due to growing public pressure. The piece outlines potential eligibility criteria, such as $75,000 income limits for single filers, $150,000 for married couples, and additional amounts for dependents, with possible direct deposits starting in late 2025 or early 2026. However, no legislative text, IRS statement, or action from Congress supports this claim. What do the IRS and Treasury say? As of now, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department have not announced any new stimulus payments. The most recent IRS bulletin, IR-2025-75, dated July 15, focused on tax security and extensions, not new relief checks. The last official stimulus checks were distributed in 2021 under the American Rescue Plan, with up to $1,400 per eligible individual. While the IRS is still processing unclaimed Recovery Rebate Credits from that period (worth $2.4 billion), the deadline to file for those expired on April 15, 2025. What about the DOGE payments? Trump mentioned a so-called $5,000 'DOGE dividend' in February 2025, tied to potential savings from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). However, this remains a proposal only—there is no congressional approval, and it is not linked to a $2,000 check scheduled for August. Social Security checks Regular monthly payments from the Social Security Administration, including retirement, disability (SSDI), and survivor benefits, continue to go out, as usual. These are not stimulus payments, but rather ongoing benefits based on eligibility. The 2025 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) provides some support to beneficiaries but doesn't match inflation levels impacting food, housing, and healthcare costs, especially for low-income households. IRS warning Misinformation about the $2,000 stimulus has sparked scam attempts, including fraudulent messages and fake application forms. The IRS has warned the public to be cautious and to verify any claims via or other official sources.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Give the bully an inch, he'll take a mile: China envoy amid tariff war
NEW DELHI: "Give the bully an inch, he will take a mile," wrote Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong in a post on X, a day after US President Donald Trump slapped an additional 25% tariff on India for its trade with Russia. The remark was seen by some as expressing solidarity with countries like India and Brazil, at the receiving end of Trump's trade war. Xu's post also tagged Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi's remarks, after his talks with the Brazilian president's chief advisor Celso Amorim, that using tariffs as a weapon to suppress other countries violates the UN Charter, undermines WTO rules and is both unpopular and unsustainable. Amid the trade standoff with the US, PM Narendra Modi is likely to visit China this month for the SCO summit where he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and also Russian President Vladimir Putin.
NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
Trump Says US Will Reap Billions From Tariff Blitz. But Who Pays The Bill?
US President Donald Trump says the United States will reap billions of dollars from his tariff blitz, but who pays the bill? Higher tariffs on goods from dozens of trading partners kicked in Thursday, ranging between 15 per cent and 41 per cent. Here is a look at the effects of Trump's tariff onslaught: Higher prices for US consumers? The tariffs are paid by US-based companies to US customs when they import goods from abroad. US consumers could see a range of products become more expensive if companies choose to raise prices to offset the higher costs of importing goods. For instance, Japanese cars face a 15-per-cent tariff while made-in-Vietnam T-shirts now have a 20-per-cent duty. But companies have other options: they can absorb the higher cost, which would hit their bottom line, or they can try to negotiate lower prices with exporters. US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell estimated at the end of July that higher tariffs were beginning to be felt on certain goods. For example, the US toy company Hasbro, maker of the Monopoly board game and the owlish electronic toy Furby and which imports half of its products from China, began raising prices in May and June. Procter & Gamble, the maker of Tide laundry detergent and Pampers diapers, has projected a $1 billion hit from US tariffs over the next year and said it would institute limited price hikes in the United States. The tariffs are even more problematic for US economic sectors which don't have an option to switch to local suppliers, said Philippe Chalmin, emeritus professor at Paris-Dauphine University. The United States imports lots of copper, a key metal in electrical machinery and wiring, which Trump announced would face a 50 per cent tariff on August 1. "Half of what the United States needs is imported from Chile, and following the announcement, the price of copper on the US market rose 25 per cent compared with the global reference price," said Chalmin. In the end, however, the Trump administration backpedalled and applied the tariff only to semi-finished copper products such as pipes and wires. Loss of competitiveness The bill could also weigh on companies which depend heavily on exports, with the rising prices of their products in the United States leading to a loss of competitiveness. This is the concern for the European wine and spirits sector, which has yet to obtain an exception from US tariffs. Higher prices on Champagne or Chianti could easily push US consumers to grab a bottle of Californian wine. The impact "will be all the harsher" since, in addition to the tariffs, the value of the dollar has fallen, which further increases the price of the bottles on shelves in US shops, warned Gabriel Picard, president of the French Federation of Wine and Spirits Exporters. He estimated that this combined effect could result in a one-billion-euro loss for French producers. "There will be sectoral differences and even within the same sector, it will depend on the negotiating power" between the producer, the wholesaler, and the retailer, said Bruno de Moura Fernandes, head of macroeconomic research at Coface, a firm which provides insurance and financial services for exporters. However, he said that the effect will be especially significant for industries already facing difficulties remaining competitive against their American counterparts, notably in the chemicals and steel sectors. Thinning margins Some companies have already announced that they will cut into their profit margins to offset the effects of US tariffs. Automakers, among the first affected by US tariffs, have already seen sales and profits hit. German auto giant Volkswagen said last month that US tariffs had cost it 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in the first half of the year as it reported falling profit. It now forecasts a profit margin for the year of between four and five per cent, down from 5.5 to 6.5 per cent previously, amounting to billions of euros for the group. US tariffs prompted Japanese auto giant Toyota -- the world's largest carmaker by sales-- to cut its annual net profit forecast by 14 per cent.
