By Anushree Mukherjee and Sarah Qureshi
(Reuters) – Gold prices edged up on Wednesday as investors closely watched negotiations between the United States and its trading partners, while a firmer dollar capped further gains.
Spot gold rose 0.3% at $3,310.26 per ounce, as of 2:07 p.m. ET (1807 GMT) after hitting its lowest level since June 30 earlier in the day.
U.S. gold futures settled 0.1% higher at $3,321.
Amid market volatility, fiscal concerns and a widening U.S. deficit, investors are increasingly turning to gold, said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures.
On the trade front, the European Union said it was working on reaching a deal with the United States by the end of the month, while President Donald Trump promised that he would deliver further tariff notices on unnamed countries.
Last week, Trump signed into law a massive package of tax and spending cuts that nonpartisan analysts say could add $3.4 trillion to the nation’s debt over the next decade.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar hovered near a more than two-week high, making bullion less attractive for overseas buyers. [USD/]
Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June 17–18 meeting showed that only a couple of officials supported the case for a rate cut as early as this month, while most policymakers expressed concern about inflationary pressures they expect from Trump’s trade tariffs.
Trump has demanded immediate rate cuts and called for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to resign, but the minutes showed only narrow support for a reduction in borrowing costs among the Fed’s 19 policymakers.
At the U.S. central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting last month, officials unanimously voted to keep the benchmark interest rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range set last December.
Gold typically performs well during periods of economic uncertainty but faces challenges when interest rates are high, as it does not generate interest income.
Spot silver eased 1.3% to $36.31 per ounce, platinum shed 1.1% to $1,344.32 and palladium lost 0.4% to $1,106.35.
(Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee and Sarah Qureshi in Bengaluru, Editing by Louise Heavens, Varun H K and Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
