Gold heads for weekly gain as US tax-cut bill stokes fiscal worries
Spot gold rose 0.1% to $3,329.67 per ounce, as of 0221 GMT. Bullion is up 1.7% this week.
U.S. gold futures inched down 0.1% at $3,339.30.
Trump's tax-cut legislation cleared its final hurdle in the U.S. Congress on Thursday, which will fund his immigration crackdown, make his 2017 tax cuts permanent and deliver new tax breaks that he promised during his 2024 campaign.
Through this bill 'we're not making any progress on getting our fiscal house in order here in the U.S., so in longer run, it should be bearish for the dollar and bullish for gold,' Marex analyst Edward Meir said.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the legislation would add $3.4 trillion over a decade to the nation's $36.2 trillion debt.
Meanwhile, the labor market data on Thursday showed U.S. firms added a more-than-expected 147,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 4.1%, bolstering the case for the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady.
Trump announced that letters specifying tariff rates on imports would begin being sent out Friday, signaling a shift from earlier pledges to negotiate individual trade deals.
'If Trump is very insistent on July 9 being a drop-dead date and he imposes these tariffs again, the dollar will certainly weaken and we could see gold moving higher,' Meir said.
On April 2, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs of 10%-50%, later reducing most rates to 10% until July 9 to allow for negotiations.
Non-yielding bullion, considered a safe-haven asset during geopolitical and economic uncertainties, tends to perform well in a low-interest-rate environment.
Spot silver fell 0.5% to $36.66 per ounce, platinum rose 0.7% to $1,376.67 and palladium fell 0.6% to $1,130.60.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
36 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
UFC White House to take place in 2026: President Donald Trump confirms details
White House to stage UFC fight in 2026, as per Donald Trump President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the White House will host a UFC event in 2026 as part of the United States' 250th anniversary celebrations. Speaking at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Trump told supporters that the mixed martial arts promotion would stage a fight card on the White House grounds, with space to accommodate nearly 25,000 spectators. 'We're going to have some incredible events, some professional events, some amateur events,' Trump said. 'But the UFC fight is going to be a big deal, too.' 🚨 BREAKING: President Trump announces there is going to a UFC FIGHT on the lawn of the White House for America's 250th Birthday We live in the absolute BEST timeline 🤣🔥 — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 4, 2025 Details on the proposed event remain unclear. Neither the UFC nor its president Dana White has officially confirmed plans for the fight night or its logistics. Trump has maintained a long-standing relationship with White and is a frequent attendee at UFC events. He has been seen at several high-profile cards, including UFC 302, 309 and most recently UFC 314 in Miami, where he appeared on the broadcast sitting cageside next to White. White also introduced Trump at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, underscoring the close ties between the two figures. The proposed UFC event would mark an unprecedented use of the White House grounds for a professional combat sports showcase. While presidential residences have previously hosted musical performances, athletic ceremonies and social gatherings, no such sporting contest of this scale has ever taken place on site. If confirmed, the event would be part of a wider set of celebrations planned for the semiquincentennial of the United States in 2026.
Business Recorder
an hour ago
- Business Recorder
Trump says he expects Hamas decision in 24 hours on ‘final' peace proposal
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Friday it would probably be known in 24 hours whether the Palestinian group Hamas has agreed to accept what he has called a 'final proposal' for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza. The president also said he had spoken to Saudi Arabia about expanding the Abraham Accords, the deal on normalization of ties that his administration negotiated between Israel and some Gulf countries during his first term. Trump said on Tuesday Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, during which the parties will work to end the war. He was asked on Friday if Hamas had agreed to the latest ceasefire deal framework, and said: 'We'll see what happens, we are going to know over the next 24 hours.' A source close to Hamas said on Thursday the Islamist group sought guarantees that the new U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal would lead to the end of Israel's war in Gaza. Two Israeli officials said those details were still being worked out. Dozens of Palestinians were killed on Thursday in Israeli strikes, according to Gaza authorities. The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show. Gaza's health ministry says Israel's subsequent military assault has killed over 56,000 Palestinians. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations. Hamas says discussing Gaza ceasefire proposals from mediators A previous two month ceasefire ended when Israeli strikes killed more than 400 Palestinians on March 18. Trump earlier this year proposed a U.S. takeover of Gaza, which was condemned globally by rights experts, the U.N. and Palestinians as a proposal of 'ethnic cleansing.' Abraham accords Trump made the comments on the Abraham Accords when asked about U.S. media reporting late on Thursday that he had met Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman at the White House. 'It's one of the things we talked about,' Trump said. 'I think a lot of people are going to be joining the Abraham accords,' he added, citing the predicted expansion to the damage faced by Iran from recent U.S. and Israeli strikes. Axios reported that after the meeting with Trump, the Saudi official spoke on the phone with Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of Iran's General Staff of the Armed Forces. Trump's meeting with the Saudi official came ahead of a visit to Washington next week by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Financials, tech stocks nudge Aussie shares near record high
Australian shares moved closer to a record high on Friday, boosted by technology and financial stocks ahead of an expected interest rate cut by the local central bank next week, though losses in commodity stocks capped gains. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2% to 8,611.50 points by 0047 GMT, just 27.6 points shy of the record high hit on June 11. The benchmark has gained more than 1% so far this week and is headed for its best week since mid-May. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is expected to cut rates on Tuesday, a Reuters poll of economists showed. Markets and economists had earlier forecast three RBA rate cuts this year but raised their projections to four in May and now to five, as inflation eased faster than expected and the growth outlook weakened. While lower borrowing costs typically pressure bank margins, they could support the broader economy by spurring growth and potentially drive up both loan demand and volumes. Financials rose 0.4%, recovering from a more than 1% drop on Thursday. National Australia Bank and Westpac rose 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively. Rate-sensitive real estate stocks climbed as much as 1% to a three-week high. Scentre Group and Goodman Group gained more than 1% each. Technology stocks added 1.4%, taking cues from the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, which notched record closes overnight. Shares of Xero advanced 0.9%. Bucking the trend, heavyweight miners lost 1.3% after rising more than 3% on Thursday. BHP Group and Rio Tinto shed 2% and 2.3%, respectively. Gold stocks eased 0.2% after bullion prices declined 1% overnight. Oil stocks followed suit, dropping 0.2%. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index added 0.5% to 12,770.55 points.
