Gold edges higher as dollar dips, US fiscal worries mount

[BENGALURU] Gold prices edged up on Tuesday (May 27), supported by a weaker US dollar and concerns over the US fiscal outlook, while investors looked for further clarity on trade policy after US President Donald Trump postponed a planned tariff hike on European goods.

Spot gold was up 0.1 per cent at US$3,344.36 an ounce, as at 0047 GMT.

US gold futures fell 0.6 per cent to US$3,344.60.

The US dollar index eased 0.3 per cent to hover near a one-month low against its rivals, making greenback-priced gold more attractive for other currency holders.

Trump backed away from his threat to impose 50 per cent tariffs on imports from the European Union next month, restoring a Jul 9 deadline to allow for talks between Washington and the 27-nation bloc to produce a deal.

The US House of Representatives last week passed a version of Trump’s tax-cut bill that is calculated to add about US$3.8 trillion to the federal government’s US$36.2 trillion in debt over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

China’s total gold imports via Hong Kong in April nearly tripled month-on-month, hitting their highest levels in more than a year, Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department data showed on Monday.

Trump said Vladimir Putin had “gone absolutely CRAZY” by unleashing a massive aerial attack on Ukraine and said he was weighing new sanctions on Moscow, though he also scolded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Spot silver gained 0.4 per cent to US$33.47 an ounce, platinum was steady at US$1,085.63 and palladium edged 0.1 per cent lower to US$986.75. REUTERS