Gold rebounds on safe-haven demand amid Moody’s US downgrade

WASHINGTON: Gold prices climbed on Monday as a softer dollar and renewed trade tensions — following US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s reaffirmation of President Donald Trump’s tariff threats — fuelled safe-haven demand.

Spot gold was up 0.7 per cent at $3,223.55 an ounce, as of 0215 GMT. US gold futures gained 1.3 per cent to $3,228.70.

Gold shed more than 2 per cent on Friday and posted its worst week since last November, as increased risk appetite from the US-China trade agreement weighed.

The dollar slipped 0.3 per cent on Monday, making greenback-priced gold cheaper for overseas currency holders.

“The Moody’s downgrade of the US credit rating, and the corresponding risk-off reaction by the market, has put some pep back into the gold price,” said KCM Trade Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer.

Moody’s cut America’s top sovereign credit rating by one notch on Friday, the last of the major ratings agencies to downgrade the country, citing concerns about the nation’s growing debt pile.

Trump will impose tariffs at the rate he threatened last month on trade partners that do not negotiate in “good faith” on deals, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in television interviews on Sunday.

Trump’s trade wars have severely disrupted global trade flows and roiled financial markets as investors grapple with what Bessent has called the Republican president’s “strategic uncertainty,” in his drive to reshape economic relationships in the US’s favour.

Gold, traditionally considered a safe-haven asset during political and economic uncertainty, tends to thrive in a low-rate environment.

US producer prices in April fell unexpectedly and retail sales growth slowed, while consumer prices rose less than expected, data showed last week.

“I think we could be looking at a July or September rate cut, but how Trump’s trade negotiations fare in the interim could be a determining factor for when the Fed next lowers rates,” Waterer added.

Spot silver firmed 0.5 per cent to $32.42 an ounce, platinum rose 0.3 per cent to $990.71 and palladium gained 0.5 per cent to $965.23.

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