Precious metals retreated on Thursday as geopolitical tensions and safe-haven demand eased after U.S. President Donald Trump backed down from new tariff threats and proposals to annex Greenland by force, while a firmer dollar also pressured prices.
Spot gold was down 0.8% at $4,799.79 per ounce, as of 0136 GMT, after scaling a record peak of $4,887.82 in the previous session.
U.S. gold futures for February delivery lost 0.6% to $4,806.60 per ounce.
Trump abruptly stepped back on Wednesday from threats to impose tariffs as leverage to seize Greenland, ruled out the use of force and suggested a deal was in sight to end a dispute over the Danish territory that risked the deepest rupture in transatlantic relations in decades.
The dollar firmed, benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields eased off of multi-month highs while Wall Street indexes also jogged higher on news of Trump’s reversal on tariffs.
A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced metals more expensive for overseas buyers.
Meanwhile, U.S. Supreme Court justices signalled scepticism toward President Trump’s unprecedented bid to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook in a case with the central bank’s independence at stake.
Traders await November’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, and weekly jobless claims, due later in the day, for further cues on monetary policy trajectory.
The U.S. Fed is broadly expected to maintain interest rates at its January 27-28 meeting despite Trump’s calls for cuts.
Gold, which does not yield interest, typically performs well in a low-interest-rate environment.
Spot silver receded 0.9% to $92.38 an ounce, after hitting a record high of $95.87 on Tuesday.
Spot platinum lost 2.7% to $2,415.60 per ounce after hitting a record $2,511.80 on Wednesday, while palladium slipped 1% to $1,821.50, retreating from a one-week high hit in the previous session.
