Gold rises on weaker dollar, tariff uncertainty before deadline
Spot gold was up 0.6% at $3,322.55 per ounce, as of 0430 GMT, while U.S. gold futures rose 0.8% to $3,334.80.
"Weaker dollar and concerns about the impact if Trump's tariff deadline is not extended are supporting gold at the moment," said Nicholas Frappell, global head of institutional markets at ABC Refinery.
The U.S. dollar index fell 0.2% to a more than three-year low, making bullion more affordable for holders of other currencies. [USD/]
Trump expressed frustration with U.S.-Japan trade negotiations on Monday as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that countries could be notified of sharply higher tariffs.
Tariff rates ranging from 10% to 50%, announced on April 2, are scheduled to take effect on July 9 following a 90-day pause implemented by Trump, unless bilateral trade deals are reached.
Meanwhile, Trump continued to press the Federal Reserve on Monday to ease monetary policy, sending Fed Chair Jerome Powell a list of global central bank interest rates, annotated with handwritten comments saying U.S. rates should be between Japan's 0.5% and Denmark's 1.75%.
"I think (Trump's call to lower interest rates) is also having an impact on the market although I am a bit surprised that the market is that optimistic about rate cuts," Frappell said.
Bessent said the administration is considering using the next expected Fed Board of Governors vacancy in early 2026 to appoint a successor to Powell.
Investors are closely monitoring a series of U.S. labour market reports in this holiday-shortened trading week, culminating in Thursday's government payrolls data, for insights into the Fed's monetary policy.
Spot silver rose 0.2% to $36.16 per ounce, platinum was steady at $1,352.49, while palladium gained 1.4% to $1,113.18.
(Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair, Rashmi Aich and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
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