Gold prices dip as Trump tariff block buoys risk, boosts dollar

Investing.com-- Gold prices fell in Asian trade on Thursday, extending recent declines as a U.S. federal court’s ruling against President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs sparked a rally across risk-driven assets.

The ruling also sparked strength in the dollar, which weighed on gold and quashed broader metal prices.

Gold was already nursing losses for the week after Trump’s backtracking on higher European tariffs helped boost risk and dented demand for havens. A three-session recovery in the dollar also weighed on bullion.

Spot gold fell 0.5% to $3,273.19 an ounce, while gold futures for August fell 0.8% to $3,297.25/oz by 00:47 ET (04:47 GMT). Gold was trading down 2.5% so far this week, having also faced heavy profit-taking after racing to record highs last week. 

Gold falls as Trump tariff ruling boosts risk, dents havens 

Gold weakened in tandem with other safe havens, specifically the Japanese yen, as Wednesday’s court ruling boosted risk appetite. 

The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that Trump overstepped his authority in proposing sweeping trade tariffs against major global economies, and that Congress held the final authority over sweeping tariffs. 

The court gave the Trump administration a 10-day deadline to comply with the ruling, with the White House almost immediately appealing the decision.

Risk appetite was boosted by bets that Trump will be unable to proceed with his tariff agenda, which has been a key source of market uncertainty so far this year. But analysts warned that Trump’s tariffs were likely to remain in place as he appeals the decision, and that the legal process could herald even more uncertainty for markets. 

Still, gains in risk-driven markets signaled that investors were at least for now pricing in a potential end to Trump’s tariffs. 

Dollar gains quash metal prices; more econ. data on tap

The dollar firmed sharply after the court ruling, amid hopes that a block on Trump’s tariffs will clear uncertainty over the U.S. economy. 

But this trend limited gains in broader metal prices, with most metals also nursing losses against a stronger dollar from earlier in the week.

Platinum futures rose 0.2% to $1,080.10/oz, while silver futures rose 0.5% to $33.328/oz. 

Among industrial metals, benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.2% to $9,586.20 a ton, while U.S. copper futures rose 0.2% to $4.6958 a pound.

Focus on Thursday is on more U.S. economic data, specifically a revised reading on first-quarter gross domestic product. Preliminary GDP data showed in April that the U.S. economy unexpectedly shrank in the first quarter- a data point that had boosted gold prices.

The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s May meeting, released on Wednesday, also showed the central bank on edge over the U.S. economic outlook.