Gold prices rose on Thursday as geopolitical uncertainty and trade war concerns boosted safe-haven demand, with low trading volumes expected as U.S. markets are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Spot gold was up 0.2% to $2,641.79 per ounce at 10:07 a.m. ET (1507 GMT). U.S. gold futures were steady at $2,642.00. Bullion posted its deepest one-day decline in more than five months earlier on Monday.
Geopolitical risks remain elevated with ongoing war in Russia-Ukraine, and while an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire is in force, Israel’s contingencies for retaliation keep tensions alive, said Aneeka Gupta, director of macroeconomic research at WisdomTree.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to hit Canada and Mexico with tariffs was also having an effect, she added. “It did increase a bit of concern on the possible repercussions from these two countries. So that continues to remain an important support factor for gold.”
However, Trump’s tariff plans are also seen as potential drivers of inflation, which could prompt the U.S. Federal Reserve to slow its interest rate cutting, potentially limiting any further rally in non-yielding bullion.
Data on Wednesday showed progress in lowering U.S. inflation appears to have stalled in the past months, suggesting the Fed may proceed cautiously with further rate cuts.
Markets now see a 70% chance of a quarter-point rate cut in December. Gold tends to do well in a lower interest rate environment.
Following a Republican clean sweep in the Nov. 5 U.S. election, bullion saw a sharp sell-off.
“After that sell-off … there has been some revived investor interest that has given some support, while weaker-handed holders were flushed out,” said StoneX analyst Rhona O’Connell.
“The market now is a bit more careful and prices probably will be range-bound with more downward bias going into the year-end,” said Brian Lan, managing director at Singapore-based dealer GoldSilver Central.
Spot silver rose 0.5% to $30.22 per ounce, platinum was up 0.9% to $935.25 and palladium gained 0.6% to $978.12.