Gold is under pressure in the Tuesday session. In North American trade, the spot price for one ounce of gold is $1275.69, down 0.22% on the day. Earlier in the day, gold dropped to $1270, its lowest level since December. On the release front, construction indicators were a mix. Building Permits dropped to 1.30 million, shy of the estimate of 1.35 million. This marked a 3-month low. Housing Starts improved to 1.35 million, beating the estimate of 1.31 million. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will participate in a panel at the European Forum in Sintra, Portugal. The U.S will release Existing Home Sales.
In times of crisis, nervous investors often turn to gold, a safe-haven asset. However, since the start of the new round of tit-for tat tariffs between China and the U.S began on Friday, gold has defied expectations and lost ground. The base metal has declined 1.9% since Friday. The U.S dollar has posted broad gains against other major currencies and has also moved higher against gold.
President Trump has raised the stakes in the escalating trade spat between the world’s two largest economies. After China said it would match the U.S move to slap tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods, Trump sent shock waves across global markets on Tuesday, threatening to impose 10 percent tariffs on some $200 billion in Chinese goods. Not surprisingly, China has threatened to retaliate against this latest move. Trump has vowed to take action on the $375 billion trade deficit that the U.S has with China, claiming that the latter is guilty of unfair trade practices. With the first of the U.S tariffs scheduled to take effect on July 6 and no signs that either side will blink first, there is a real danger of a global trade war, which could end up as lose-lose situation for both China and the United States.
