Gold prices slip lower as Trump downplays Powell threat; needs new catalyst
Investing.com-- Gold prices fell in Asian trade on Friday, reflecting some improvement in risk appetite after comments from the White House suggested that a U.S. strike on Iran, over the Israel conflict, was not imminent.
The yellow metal remained on the backfoot following hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve earlier this week, which buoyed the dollar.
While the dollar did pull back slightly on Friday, it was set for weekly gains. Strength in the dollar also cut short a recent rally in platinum prices, which saw the white metal hit an over four-year high.
Spot gold fell 0.5% to $3,353.17 an ounce, while gold futures for August slid 1.1% to $3,369.40/oz by 00:58 ET (04:58 GMT).
Gold hit by improving risk appetite; Trump postpones Iran decision by ‘two weeks’
Losses in gold came amid some gains in risk-driven markets, after the White House signaled that President Donald Trump will only decide on whether to join the Israel-Iran conflict in two weeks.
The move helped clear some market concerns that a U.S. attack on Iran was imminent, especially after a host of reports suggested as much earlier this week.
But Trump’s “two weeks” timeline still left markets in the lurch, given that the president has repeatedly used the unit of time for several major key policy decisions in the past, only to delay them indefinitely.
Trump was eight weeks ago asked if he could trust Russian President Vladimir Putin, to which he had also responded with his “two weeks” deadline.
Still, the prospect of no immediate attack on Iran helped spur some risk appetite, even as Israel and Iran continued to attack each other, stretching their renewed conflict into an eighth day.
Other metal prices retreated, also hurt by some resilience in the dollar after a hawkish Fed earlier this week. Silver futures fell 1.6% to $35.765/oz.
Among industrial metals, benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.3% to $9,602.05 a ton, while U.S. copper futures fell 0.9% to $4.7650 a pound.
Platinum sinks from over 4-yr high, set for strong week
Platinum futures slid 1.5% to $1,282.75/oz, retreating from an over four-year high hit in the prior session.
But the white metal was trading up 5.8% in its third straight week of gains.
Platinum has been on a tear since mid-May, especially after a major industry report highlighted strong demand and shrinking supplies for the white metal.
The report sparked a speculative frenzy in the white metal, with investors rapidly taking up long positions on the white metal. But analysts still remained doubtful over whether this rally will last.