Gold Reaches New Highs Despite Hawkish Fed Speak
Last week, gold hit new highs as investors flocked to safe-haven assets amid trade war-driven market volatility. This week was shortened in terms of trading days, as U.S. stock and bond markets were closed today in observance of Good Friday.
Wall Street stocks ended Monday’s session in the green despite continued volatility. Gains were led by tech shares following a weekend announcement from President Trump, which outlined tariff exemptions for smartphones, semiconductors, and computers. At the same time, bullion took a breather as risk sentiment improved. As a result, gold held steady near $3,223, while silver posted a modest gain, closing Monday near $32.35 an ounce.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite all snapped a two-session winning streak with slight losses, despite better-than-expected Q1 earnings from companies like Citigroup and Bank of America. Meanwhile, gold surged nearly 2% to close at $3,285, supported by continued weakness in the dollar index.
On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell spoke at the Economic Club of Chicago, stating that the central bank would “wait for greater clarity” regarding tariff policies and their outcomes before considering further interest rate changes.
Stocks fell sharply following Powell’s comments, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading losses, down 3.06%. Meanwhile, gold breached $3,300 for the first time ever as the dollar index languished near a three-year low of 99.26. Bullion also found support from ongoing investor demand for safe-haven assets amid escalating U.S.-China trade tensions. As a result, gold ended Wednesday’s session at a new record high of $3,352.
Gold pulled back on Thursday amid profit-taking but still managed to end the shortened trading week at $3,315 — a 2.8% weekly gain. Silver saw little movement on Thursday and finished the week with a 1.5% gain at $31.41.
Stocks were mixed during Thursday’s choppy session, as sliding tech shares and lingering tariff concerns weighed on investor sentiment. By the close, the S&P 500 eked out a slight gain, while the Dow and Nasdaq recorded their third consecutive day of losses. For the week, the S&P 500 added 0.52%, while the Dow and Nasdaq posted respective declines of 0.89% and 0.45%.