Gold Chops Sideways ahead of New Tariffs
Gold prices did not move much on Wednesday as traders await the next chapter in the US-China trade war.
US President Donald Trump previously threatened to impose additional tariffs on more Chinese goods on December 15. Traders will be waiting if he will push through with the threat.
Gold futures for delivery in February last traded at $1,467.75 or 0.2% lower.
The precious metal has received some support overnight after White House advisor Larry Kudlow made statements in a conference.
He said that Trump would likely impose the tariffs by Sunday.
Commodities news quickly jumped on those comments. According to Kudlow, the tariffs “are still on the table.” He added that if developments in the talks did not sit well with Trump, the POTUS might impose more punitive tariffs.
These comments came after reports suggested that the White House was considering delaying the tariffs.
At the same time, gold traders are keeping close tabs on the upcoming Federal Policy statement. The results of the Fed’s meeting will come out later in the day.
Even though the Fed will likely not make changes to the critical rate, investors will scrutinize the wordings of the Fed.
Oil and Other Commodities
Elsewhere in the commodities market, unlike gold, oil prices were lower.
According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), US crude stockpiles increased last week. As a result, oil traders went bearish.
US Crude Oil WTI Futures dropped 0.6% to $58.91. Meanwhile, the Brent Oil Futures slipped 0.7% to trade at $63.90.
According to API, crude inventories increased by 1.41 million last week.
Analysts are now predicting the Energy Information Administration will report a draw of 2.8 million barrels when it issues numbers. The figures are due to come out on Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, the EIA said that the US is on its way to becoming a net exporter of crude and fuel for the first time on record. That’s because of the production surge in the country, which has minimized its dependence on foreign oil commodities.
At the same time, Exxon Mobil Corp and Hess Corp plan to export the first shipments of oil from Guyana. According to sources, the first-ever delivery will be between January and February.
Gold and other commodities investors will be bracing for several significant events this week. These events include the British general elections and the European Central Bank meeting.
