Gold falls as trade tensions ease, dollar rises
Gold prices fell on Friday, ending the week with a weekly loss, amid a stronger dollar and easing concerns about the trade war between the United States and China, after reports indicated that Beijing is considering exempting some U.S. goods from tariffs.
Global gold prices ended lower on Friday, weighed down by a drop in demand for safe-haven assets as risk appetite improves.
The spot price was $3318.95 per ounce (oz), down from $3348.88 the day before, reflecting a decline of approximately 0.9%.
Gold futures for April 2025 closed at $3282.4 per ounce, down $59.80 or 1.79% from the previous session.
Influencing factors
The decline in gold prices comes after record highs in recent weeks, with gold hitting historic highs of $3,500 per ounce in Tuesday's trading.
The recent decline is attributed to easing geopolitical and economic concerns, prompting investors to reduce their holdings of gold as a safe haven.
“The apparent breakthrough on tariffs is weighing on gold prices ... however, we have yet to see a major cash selloff,” said Daniel Ghaly, commodity strategist at TD Securities, as quoted by Reuters. “We believe that buyers who took advantage of the declines in the past sessions may support gold's return to its upward trajectory,” he added.
According to reports, Chinese authorities have sent notices to some companies asking them to identify US goods that can be exempted from the 125% duties, in a further sign of easing trade tensions. U.S. President Donald Trump this week hinted at progress in direct talks with China.
Despite the current pullback, gold remains up more than 25% since the beginning of 2025, supported by strong demand from central banks and geopolitical and economic concerns, having earlier this month hit a record high of $3,500 per ounce
The performance of other precious metals:
- Silver fell 1.1% to $33.21 per ounce, but is on track to post weekly gains for the third consecutive week.
- Platinum fell 0.5% to $965.75 per ounce.
- Palladium fell 1.5% to $939.82 per ounce.
Rise of the dollar
On the other hand, at the end of trading on Friday, the dollar rose significantly, achieving its first weekly gain since mid-March.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback's performance against 6 other currencies, rose 0.3% to 99.62, after falling earlier in the week to its lowest level since March 2022 at 97.92.
