Gold rises on weaker dollar, tariff uncertainty before deadline
Spot gold was up 0.4% at $3,315.26 per ounce, as of 0229 GMT, while US gold futures rose 0.6% to $3,326.50.
'Weaker dollar and concerns about the impact if Trump's tariff deadline is not extended are supporting gold at the moment,' said Nicholas Frappell, global head of institutional markets at ABC Refinery.
The US dollar index fell 0.1% to a more than three-year low, making bullion more affordable for holders of other currencies.
Trump expressed frustration with US-Japan trade negotiations on Monday as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that countries could be notified of sharply higher tariffs, as a July 9 deadline approaches despite good-faith negotiations.
Meanwhile, Trump continued to press the Federal Reserve on Monday to ease monetary policy, sending Fed Chair Jerome Powell a list of global central bank interest rates, annotated with handwritten comments saying US rates should be between Japan's 0.5% and Denmark's 1.75%.
'I think (Trump's call to lower interest rates) is also having an impact on the market although I am a bit surprised that the market is that optimistic about rate cuts,' Frappell said.
Gold gains on dollar weakness, US jobs data awaited
Bessent said the administration is considering using the next expected Fed Board of Governors vacancy in early 2026 to appoint a successor to Powell.
Investors are closely monitoring a series of US labour market reports in this holiday-shortened trading week, culminating in Thursday's government payrolls data, for insights into the Fed's monetary policy direction.
The market is currently anticipating a 67-basis-point rate cut beginning in September. Spot silver fell 0.8% to $35.80 per ounce, platinum was down 0.7% to $1,343.61, while palladium gained 0.9% to $1,107.25.
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