(Bloomberg) — Gold was little changed, following its longest streak of gains since February, as traders assess the latest twists in US President Donald Trump’s trade strategy, geopolitical developments and the outlook for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path.
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Bullion slipped about 0.4% to $3,368.22 an ounce by 1:59 p.m. in London, after gaining in the previous four sessions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, for almost three hours in Moscow on Wednesday, amid speculation that the Kremlin might offer the US concessions over the conflict in Ukraine that could include halting airstrikes in a bid to avert new economic penalties.
Trump has warned that he will impose increased levies on countries such as India and others that persist in buying Russian oil, as well as slapping duties on semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports soon. The latest indication of tariff-linked damage on the economy came from data that showed the services sector effectively stagnated in July.
Signs of weakness in the world’s biggest economy have spurred wagers on the Fed easing monetary policy at its next meeting in September, with traders seeing a 90% chance of a cut. Lower rates are typically supportive of non-interest paying bullion.
Gold has climbed about 30% this year as investors have sought safety amid heightened trade conflicts, geopolitical tensions and eroding trust in dollar-denominated assets. Still, the precious metal has been range-bound over the past few months, lacking new catalysts to surge past its record high of just over $3,500 an ounce reached in April.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.2%. Silver nudged down, platinum was little changed, while palladium declined.
–With assistance from Laura Avetisyan.
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