Gold Prices Decline After Trump’s Election Victory

Gold prices fell slightly in Asian trade on Thursday, continuing the steep losses from the previous session after Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 elections led to a rally in the dollar and risk assets.

The yellow metal faced pressure due to profit-taking following a series of record highs leading up to the elections. However, gold has retained a significant portion of its gains from the previous month.

Price Details

• Spot gold: $2,658.03 an ounce
• Gold futures (expiring in December): $2,664.70 an ounce (-0.4% by 23:37 ET / 04:37 GMT)

Impact of Trump’s Victory

Spot gold dropped more than 3% on Wednesday as Trump’s win resulted in the dollar rallying to four-month highs. The swift conclusion of a contentious presidential election reduced uncertainty for global financial markets, initiating a risk-on rally while pressuring safe-haven assets like gold.

On Thursday, gold found some support as uncertainty lingered, particularly regarding Trump’s cabinet selections. The president-elect has indicated intentions to raise trade tariffs on China, potentially reigniting trade tensions between the two largest economies.

Trump is also anticipated to implement inflationary policies during his term, likely affecting interest rates and further pressuring non-yielding assets like gold.

Focus shifted on Thursday to the conclusion of a Federal Reserve meeting, where a 25 basis points interest rate cut is expected. Market participants remain anxious about the Fed's signals on future rate cuts amid persistent inflation and the implications of a Trump presidency.

Other Precious Metals

Other precious metals also saw declines on Thursday. Platinum futures fell 0.6% to $988.40 an ounce, while silver futures decreased 0.9% to $31.035 an ounce, both metals experiencing significant losses in recent sessions.

Copper Prices Improve with Steady Chinese Imports

Among industrial metals, copper prices rose on Thursday, recovering some recent losses due to steady copper import data from China for October.
– Benchmark copper futures (London Metal Exchange): rose 1.3% to $9,444.50 per ton
– December copper futures: increased 1.4% to $4.2980 per pound

These contracts had dropped between 4% and 5% on Wednesday due to concerns over potential economic headwinds from a Trump presidency. China, being the world's largest copper importer, has faced fears of reduced demand that have weighed on prices recently.

Nonetheless, data released on Thursday showed that China imported 506,000 metric tons of unwrought copper and copper products in October, up 1.1% year-on-year.