Gold prices held steady in Asian trading on Wednesday, hovering just below US$3,350 per ounce as investors awaited high-impact United States economic data and developments on trade policy.
By 3:35 pm AEST (5:35 am GMT), spot gold was down $4.14, or 0.1%, at US$3,349.90 per ounce. The yellow metal is attempting to recover after retreating from a monthly peak of $3,392 on Tuesday, buoyed by renewed selling pressure on the U.S. dollar.
Gold found support as investor nerves returned over trade tensions, with the Trump administration’s deadline for trade partners to submit revised tariff offers set for Wednesday. A planned doubling of U.S. steel and aluminium tariffs to 50% is also scheduled to take effect later in the session.
Amid these developments, markets are looking ahead to a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, which could influence the broader risk environment and demand for safe-haven assets like gold.
The greenback, which typically moves inversely to gold, saw a short-lived rebound on Tuesday after stronger-than-expected JOLTS job openings data. The U.S. Labour Department reported 7.39 million job openings in April, up from 7.2 million in March and beating market forecasts of 7.1 million.
However, that momentum has since faded, leaving the U.S. dollar under pressure once again. This backdrop could offer near-term support to gold ahead of the ADP employment change report and ISM services PMI later in the day.
