GOLD prices edged higher on Monday (Mar 10), helped by a weaker US dollar and safe-haven flows triggered by fears of a global trade war, while investors awaited further clues to gauge the Federal Reserve’s interest rate stance.
Spot gold was up 0.1 per cent at US$2,914.42 an ounce, as at 0052 GMT, while US gold futures rose 0.3 per cent to US$2,921.90.
US President Donald Trump declined to predict whether the US could face a recession amid stock market concerns about his tariff actions on Mexico, Canada and China over fentanyl.
Seesaw tariff announcements have unnerved Wall Street as investors say flip-flopping moves by the Trump administration to roll back levies on trading partners are causing confusion rather than bringing relief.
Trump imposed new 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada last Tuesday, along with fresh duties on Chinese goods.
He later exempted many imports from Mexico and some from Canada from those tariffs for a month, creating uncertainty in the markets and fanning worries about US inflation and growth.
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Tariffs have been a key concern for investors, with many believing that they can harm economic growth and be inflationary.
Worries over Trump’s tariff policies pushed safe-haven gold to a record high of US$2,956.15 on Feb 24.
Gold is seen as a hedge against political risks and inflation.
However, if rising price pressures force the Fed to keep interest rates higher, gold may lose its allure as it is a non-yielding asset.
The Labor Department’s employment report on Friday showed that nonfarm payrolls increased by 151,000 last month after rising by a downwardly revised 125,000 in January.
Investors now await US consumer price index data on Wednesday and producer price index data on Thursday.
Spot silver firmed 0.1 per cent to US$32.56 an ounce, platinum was steady at US$962.90, and palladium eased 0.2 per cent to US$946.30. REUTERS
