Gold prices drop as Trump delays tariffs and strong U.S. jobs report lowers hopes for rate cuts
Gold prices fell in Asian markets on Monday, mainly because the U.S. dollar stayed strong and investors weren’t expecting interest rates to drop anytime soon. The drop came after U.S. President Donald Trump made new threats to raise tariffs but also delayed when they would take effect.
Trump said he plans to raise tariffs on countries in the BRICS group — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — which he called “anti-American.” He also said he will start sending out official letters about the new tariffs on Monday. Earlier, he had set a deadline of July 9, but he pushed it to August 1, giving countries more time to reach deals with the U.S.
Even though Trump’s comments added some tension, they didn’t lead to more people buying gold as a safe investment. That’s likely because the delay means the new tariffs won’t have an immediate impact.
Since April, the U.S. has only signed a few trade deals — with the UK, China, and Vietnam — despite Trump saying there would be 90 deals in 90 days.
By early Monday, spot gold had dropped 0.7% to $3,312.12 an ounce, and gold futures for September were down 0.8% to $3,320.67 an ounce.
A big reason gold and other metal prices are falling is the strong U.S. dollar. The dollar gained strength after last week’s jobs report showed more people are working than expected. Because the job market looks strong, many investors now believe the U.S. Federal Reserve won’t lower interest rates anytime soon.
When interest rates stay high, the dollar tends to rise — and that usually causes gold and other metals (which are priced in U.S. dollars) to fall.
Other precious metals also saw drops. Platinum futures fell nearly 2% to $1,381.00 an ounce, and silver futures were down 0.6% to $36.91 an ounce.
Industrial metals dropped too. Copper futures on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.6% to $9,807.10 per ton, and U.S. copper futures dropped 1% to $5.0130 per pound.
