Gold prices were little changed in Asian trade on Wednesday after four days of gains, as investors weighed weak U.S. economic data to gauge the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook.
Market participants also awaited President Donald Trump’s decision on appointments to the Fed for further clarity on the central bank’s policy outlook.
Spot Gold ticked down 0.1% to $3,378.13 an ounce, while Gold Futures for December also lost 0.1% to $3,432.70/oz by 02:32 ET (06:32 GMT).
Bullion has risen in the last four consecutive sessions, with marginal gains this week after a 2% jump on Friday.
Gold supported by Fed cut hopes, trade worries Data on Tuesday showed that the Institute for Supply Management’s purchasing managers’ index fell to 50.1 in July, below forecasts for 51.5, marking a near‑stall in services activity and exacerbating concerns about slowing U.S. economic growth.
This came on the heels of Friday’s weak U.S. payroll report, which saw fewer new jobs added and widespread revisions, pushing the unemployment rate to 4.2%.
Fed rate cut odds for September rose to 87% as of Wednesday, supporting gold prices as lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of non‑yielding bullion.
Meanwhile, markets weighed President Donald Trump’s decisions on Federal Reserve vacancies. Governor Adriana Kugler is set to resign on August 8, opening a board seat.
Separately, Trump said he had narrowed the list of potential candidates to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to four names.
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads. He excluded Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent from the contenders, including Kevin Hassett and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh.
Trade tensions further supported bullion. In a CNBC interview, Trump threatened new tariffs on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors and reiterated threats of possible tariff hikes on Indian imports over Russian oil purchases.
Metal markets subdued; US copper gains Platinum Futures were unchanged at $1,332.20/oz, while Silver Futures edged up 0.2% to $37.875 per ounce.
Benchmark Copper Futures on the London Metal Exchange were also steady at $9,655.65 a ton, while U.S. Copper Futures rose 0.4% to $4.40 a pound.
US copper prices plunged 20% last week and have since moved largely sideways, after President Trump excluded refined metal from his planned 50% import tariff on the metal.
