
Gold prices plunge ₹1,000 amid sell-off in global markets
On Monday (August 11), the precious metal of 99.9 per cent purity had settled at ₹1,02,520 per 10 grams.
In the local markets, gold of 99.5 per cent purity dipped ₹1,000 to ₹1,01,100 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes) on Tuesday.
"Gold prices dipped after U.S. President Donald Trump clarified on social media that there would be no tariffs on gold imports. Although an official confirmation from the White House is still pending, the announcement eased some trade-related concerns," Abans Financial Services CEO Chintan Mehta said.
Adding to this, the White House announced on Monday (August 11) that the suspension of high-level tariffs on China will be extended until November 11. This decision has helped ease ongoing macroeconomic tensions for now, which has pressured gold prices downwards, Mehta added.
On Tuesday, the rupee edged higher by 10 paise to 87.65 against the U.S. dollar in early trade.
Meanwhile, silver prices slumped by ₹2,000 to ₹1,12,000 per kilogram (inclusive of all taxes) on Tuesday. It had settled at ₹1,14,000 per kg on Monday.
On the global front, spot gold was trading at $3,347.18 per ounce, up by 0.13 per cent in New York.
'Trump's announcement allays fears'
Renisha Chainani, Head of Research at Augmont, said Mr. Trump's announcement on Monday that gold will not be subject to tariffs allayed concerns about a dramatic rise in the price of importing the metal, causing prices to drop below $3,400 per ounce.
Spot silver rose nearly 1 per cent to trade at $37.90 per ounce in the overseas markets.
"Investors will continue to closely watch upcoming U.S. macroeconomic data, such as Consumer Price Index, Producer Price Index and retail sales, which will provide fresh cues on the Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory," Ms. Chainani said.
According to commodities market experts, speeches from some U.S. Fed officials will play a key role in driving the near-term U.S. dollar price dynamics and provide some meaningful impetus for the direction of bullion prices.
The demand for the safe haven asset took a hit due to speculation that the meeting between Mr. Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday (August 15, 2025) could unveil a truce plan for the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, they added.
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Hindustan Times
3 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
No fresh hike in tariff over oil, Donald Trump hints
US President Donald Trump appeared to rule out increased tariffs on China for purchasing Russian oil following his summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, while also suggesting existing penalties on India may not escalate further, providing relief for countries caught in Washington's pressure campaign against Moscow. US President Donald Trump shakes hand with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meet at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. (REUTERS) Trump indicated that secondary sanctions on major oil buyers were no longer under immediate consideration after his three-hour meeting with the Russian president on Friday. 'Well, because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that,' Trump said of tariffs on China and more severe economic punishment for Russia for continuing the war in Ukraine. 'Now, I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now. I think, you know, the meeting went very well,' Trump added. The comments came despite the summit failing to produce a deal to end the Ukraine war, which has raged since Russia's invasion in February 2022. Prior to the meeting, Trump said 'he (Putin) lost an oil client, so to speak, which is India, which was doing about 40 per cent of the if I did what's called a secondary sanction, or a secondary tariff, it would be very devastating from their standpoint. If I have to do it, I'll do it. Maybe I won't have to do it,' offering hints that could be construed positively in New Delhi. Trump's statement came amid talk that had the Alaska Summit not gone well, India could be hit with a harsher levy. 'We've put secondary tariffs on Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see, if things don't go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up,' US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in a television interview on Wednesday. The US has already imposed tariffs totalling 50% on India, including a 25% penalty for Russian oil purchases that will take effect on August 27, making India one of the most heavily penalised US trading partners. Trump's more conciliatory tone followed his earlier revelation that the India tariffs were designed to pressure Russia by cutting off oil revenue, with the president claiming Moscow 'called and wanted to meet' after losing its second-largest energy customer. India welcomed the Alaska summit between the Russian and American leaders, expressing support for dialogue-based solutions to the Ukraine conflict. 'India welcomes the summit meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their leadership in the pursuit of peace is highly commendable,' the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement released after the summit. 'India appreciates the progress made at the summit. The way forward can only be through dialogue and diplomacy. The world wants to see an early end to the conflict in Ukraine,' it added. Russia currently accounts for more than a third of India's energy purchases, up from less than 1% in 2022 following Western sanctions over the Ukraine invasion. China remains Russia's largest oil customer. India has defended its energy purchases as necessary for economic security, calling US targeting 'unjustified and unreasonable' whilst arguing that Western countries maintain their own trade relationships with Russia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin this month, offering Indian diplomatic support to aid the peace process in his call with the former. Modi has consistently called for dialogue and diplomacy since the invasion began, making separate visits to Russia and Ukraine last year whilst urging both leaders to return to negotiations. Trump announced following the summit that he would meet Zelensky in Washington on Monday, potentially followed by a trilateral meeting with Putin, as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict continue.


New Indian Express
18 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Half-baked Alaska: Trump, Putin leave peace in the oven
It is instructive that disappointment at the fizzle-out was not accompanied by surprise. Trump and Putin are given to hyperbole and carry the carcass of failed forecasts and claims. In September 2014, Putin claimed that Russian forces could conquer Kyiv in two weeks. Then, in February 2022, Putin declared that Russia would get to Kyiv within days. Similarly, Trump claimed in the run-up to the US presidential polls he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Three years and nearly a million deaths later, Russia is far from claiming victory and Trump's claim has been flailing for over 207 days. Trump draws his inspiration for geopolitics from his experience as a deal-making real estate baron. It is not surprising that he spoke about swapping land—much like realtors in Delhi exchanging corner plots for parcels of land. Business is omnipresent in Trump's playbook. The US entourage included Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Titled 'Pursuing Peace', the summit seemed less about the war and more a bilateral investment and trade meet between two friendly, not adversarial, nations. It is manifest that the US toolbox included a minerals-for-peace idea as a sweetener for Putin. In the run-up to the summit, Bessant held forth that it would explore commercial ties between the US and Russia, and declared that all options were on the table. The options included opening up Alaska's natural resources to Russia (which arguably has the capability to explore such a terrain), lifting of sanctions on Russian aviation, and even access to the rare earth deposits in territories currently occupied by Russia. It may be recalled that in May, Trump and Zelenskyy signed a minerals-for-peace deal. Ukraine has 22 of the 50 minerals defined by the US Geological Survey as critical for the production of chips, electric vehicles and defence equipment. The deal was billed by Trump as a payback for the $300-billion US support to Ukraine. The reality, as a recent study by Science Direct shows, is that nearly half of Ukraine's metal resources are now under Russian occupation. Clearly, even though the issue of ceasefire was unresolved, the two sides which met for nearly three hours did discuss possibilities that could unravel in the future.


The Hindu
34 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Chilling past, warm present
On August 15, U.S President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin concluded a historic summit in Alaska. After friendly greetings and two-and-a-half-hour-long talks at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, they left without announcing any deal, but claimed to have made progress on many issues. The selection of Alaska as the backdrop for this summit, the first since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, was significant in more than one manner. Alaska was under Russian control for 125 years before being sold to the U.S. in 1867. Alaska is separated from Russia by a distance of 88 km, while the Russian Island of Big Diomede is located just 4 km from the U.S. Little Diomede Island, with the Bering strait separating the two. Also read: Trump-Putin Alaska Summit Highlights Alaska has been populated by Indigenous peoples, including the Athabaskans, Unangan (Aleuts), Inuit, Yupiit (Yupik), Tlingit, and Haida, for centuries. In the early 18th century, Danish explorer Vitus Bering was pressed into service by Russian Tsar Peter the Great to explore the regions to the east of Russia's border. In 1728, Bering sailed through the strait separating the Russian mainland and North America (the strait is now named after him). During his second voyage in 1741, Bering spotted the peak of Mount St. Elias, part of an Alaskan mountain range, from his ship St. Peter. His 'discovery' of Alaska was confirmed later during the voyage of Englishman Captain James Cook, who mapped the area in 1778. Trading outposts Russian traders — the Promyshlenniki — soon set up outposts in Alaska, interested in seal-hunting and otter fur trade. The first Russian colony was set up in 1784 on Kodiak island at Three Saints Bay. In 1799, Tsar Paul I established the Russian American company, and in 1806, their capital was moved from Kodiak to Sitka. The Russians had to contend with opposition from the Alaskan natives, including an armed battle in Sitka in 1804 between Tlingit and Russian forces. British and later American trade interest in the region was also a challenge to the growth of 'Russian America'. Over decades, overexploitation of seals and sea otters in Alaska meant that their populations shrank, gutting profitability for Russian traders. Further, Russia was defeated by the British in the Crimean war (1853-1856). Viewing Alaska as a hard-to-defend territory which was also becoming economically untenable, Tsar Alexander II decided to give it up. Despite British interest, the U.S. emerged triumphant in its bid for Alaska in 1867. Russia sold the parcel of land, measured 665,000 sq. miles, to the U.S for $7.2 million, in a deal brokered by U.S. Secretary of State William Henry Seward. The deal, dubbed as 'Seward's Folly', was widely criticised, since Alaska was viewed as a barren frozen wasteland. The subsequent discovery of natural gas reserves and rare earth minerals, however, changed the public perception. In 1896, gold was found in Yukon and prospectors arrived to seek their fortunes in the Klondike gold fields. In 1959, Alaska officially became the 49th State of the U.S. Traces of its Russian past persist in Alaska till day. Several Orthodox churches, with characteristic ornate decor and onion-shaped domes, dot the region. The Orthodox diocese in Alaska is reportedly the oldest in North America, and it maintains a seminary on Kodiak island, the site of the first Russian settlement. Local dialects, now fast-vanishing, arose from a melange of Russian and local indigenous language, and persisted in regions surrounding Anchorage. Russian, too, is taught in some areas, such as the Kenai peninsula. Alaska is also a strategically important region. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the site of Friday's summit, was a forward front of American defence during the Cold War. Given the region's imperial Russian past, it was hardly a surprise that Anchorage was picked as the venue for the Putin-Trump meet — an American town acceptable for the Russians. When Mr. Putin met Mr. Trump on the tarmac of the joint base, he greeted him, saying, 'Good afternoon, dear neighbour.'