Gold prices eased on Monday after US President Donald Trump set a July 9 deadline for a trade deal with the European Union (EU), rescinding his earlier threat of a 50 per cent tariff from June 1.
Spot gold was down 0.3 per cent at $3,346.55 an ounce, while US gold futures fell 0.6 per cent to $3,345.80.
SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.15 per cent to 922.46 tons on Friday from 923.89 tons on Thursday, Reuters reported.
Gold prices rose more than two per cent to a two-week peak on Friday, supported by safe-haven inflows after Trump recommended 50 per cent tariffs on EU imports from June 1 and said he was considering a 25 per cent tariff on any Apple iPhones made outside the US.
“There is (a) kind of element of relief in the marketplace after (the) pause on tariffs on the EU and we’re seeing gold weaken,” the Reuters report quoted Kyle Rodda, Capital.com’s financial market analyst, as saying.
Rodda, however, said the trend is still positive for gold because of the United States’ actions, which is impacting them as well and that could negatively impact the dollar and U.S. assets, adding that most of the central banks were moving away from the dollar to gold.
The dollar index, meanwhile, fell to a nearly one-month low against its rivals. A weaker dollar makes greenback-priced gold less expensive for other currency holders.
Trump on Sunday backed off his threat to speed up 50 per cent tariffs on imports from the European Union, agreeing to extend his deadline for trade talks until July 9 after the head of the EU executive body said the bloc needed more time to “reach a good deal”.
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