Investing.com — Gold and silver prices steadied Thursday as traders digested renewed trade uncertainty as well as stronger-than-expected U.S. payrolls data.
At 09:00 ET (14:00 GMT), fell 0.2% to $5,075.23 an ounce and for April fell 0.5% to $5,097.09/oz.
fell 1.2% to $82.897/oz, while spot platinum fell 1.4% to $2,115.45/oz.
Precious metal prices also retained a bulk of their gains made this week, amid persistent weakness in the dollar and as tensions between Iran and the U.S. kept havens in vogue.
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Global trade uncertainty
U.S. President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping could extend their trade truce by as much as a year when they meet in Beijing in April, the South China Morning Post reported Thursday. The summit is set to be anchored around short-term economic wins, including fresh Chinese purchase commitments, the Morning Post report said.
Additionally, Trump is privately musing about exiting the North American trade pact, injecting further uncertainty about the deal’s future into pivotal renegotiations involving the U.S., Canada and Mexico, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement is set for a mandatory review before a possible extension on July 1.
Gold dips as dollar bounces on strong nonfarm payrolls
Gold had slipped lower after U.S. data, released on Wednesday, read stronger than expected for January.
The print showed unexpected strength in the labor market, and weighed on bets that cooling employment will spur more interest rate cuts by the Fed.
Markets are now pricing in a 94.1% chance the Fed will leave rates unchanged in March, and a 78% chance for a similar trend in April, showed.
The print also spurred a bounce in the dollar, which weighed on metal markets.
OCBC analysts also noted that a sustained rebound in the dollar will require more signs of resilience in the U.S. economy — a trend that is expected to provide gold with some respite.
“Structural drags — Fed succession uncertainty and broader US policy risks — mean the USD will still need additional upside surprises in upcoming data to sustain any rebound,” OCBC analysts said.
Still, precious metal prices remained skittish after logging wild swings over the past week on heightened uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy.
U.S. inflation, Iran tensions in focus
More cues on the U.S. economy are due this week, with inflation data for January due on Friday. Inflation and labor market strength are the Fed’s two biggest considerations for rates.
Safe haven demand for precious metals remained in play amid persistent tensions between the U.S. and Iran. While both sides did tout some progress in nuclear talks held over the weekend, Washington was seen preparing to deploy a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East.
U.S. President Donald Trump also repeatedly warned Tehran to accept a deal with Washington.
Ambar Warrick contributed to this article