Gold prices remained largely unchanged during Asian trading on Thursday, as safe-haven demand stayed muted despite political unrest in France and South Korea. Improved risk appetite and a strong U.S. dollar further weighed on the metal.
A rally on Wall Street to record highs dampened interest in gold as a haven asset, alongside comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaling a cautious stance on future interest rate cuts.
Spot gold edged down to $2,649.09 an ounce, while February gold futures dipped 0.1% to $2,672.99 an ounce by 23:14 ET (04:14 GMT).
Gold sees tepid safe-haven demand despite political turmoil
Gold’s appeal as a safe-haven asset remained limited this week, even amid political instability. France faced a government collapse, while South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol faced mounting calls for impeachment after a failed attempt to impose martial law.
However, risk-driven markets appeared largely unfazed by these developments. While local markets in France and South Korea experienced some pressure, global markets advanced, with U.S. stocks hitting record highs thanks to strength in technology shares.
Other precious metals and industrial metals trade mixed
Among other precious metals, platinum futures inched up 0.1% to $949.60 an ounce, while silver futures slipped 0.5% to $31.767 an ounce.
Industrial metals also saw muted movement. Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.2% to $9,086.50 a ton, while February copper futures edged down 0.1% to $4.1943 a pound.
Dollar strength weighs on metal markets
The U.S. dollar’s resilience added to the pressure on metals. The greenback rallied earlier in the week after President-elect Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on several countries. Markets nThe U.S. dollar largely held its recent gains after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell highlighted the economy’s resilience during a speech at a New York Times (NYSE:NYT) event. Powell noted that the robust state of the U.S. economy provides the Fed with room to take a more measured approach to future monetary easing.
While Powell did not dismiss the possibility of a December rate cut, his remarks introduced some caution about the potential for a slower pace of rate reductions in 2025. Additionally, expectations of inflationary policies under President-elect Donald Trump have fueled uncertainty about the prospect of higher interest rates in the long term.
Prolonged higher rates are likely to exert additional pressure on non-yielding assets such as metals.
The market’s attention is now focused on Friday’s release of key nonfarm payrolls data, which is expected to influence the outlook for future rate cuts.ow await key U.S. payroll data for further direction.
