Gold buoyed after Donald Trump expresses concern about dollar strength
Despite Trump’s intervention, the dollar was near one-year highs on Friday as Fed chair Jerome Powell did nothing to counter expectations of two more rate rises
London — Gold prices edged up from one-year lows on Friday after US President Donald Trump expressed concern about the strength of the dollar and interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve, pushing the greenback lower. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,223.71 an ounce at 10.46am and US gold futures were flat at $1,223.50 an ounce. But gold was still down 1.4% this week, with little sign of an end to the slide in prices that has shaved more than 10% off gold’s value since mid-May. Driving the declines were a strengthening dollar and disillusionment among investors with bullion, said Macquarie analyst Matthew Turner. The stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for buyers with other currencies. Higher interest rates are also a threat to gold because they tend to boost the dollar and raise the opportunity cost of holding nonyielding bullion. "To see a turnaround [in prices] you need something to ignite that turnaround. But it’s not clear what that could be," Turner said. One possible tr...
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