Gold prices fell on Tuesday, retreating from near a four-week high, as a modest rise in the dollar weighed on the metal, although uncertainty over the U.S.-China trade agreement kept investors cautious and limited the bullion’s decline.
Spot gold fell 0.3% to $3,369.98 an ounce, as of 0249 GMT, after hitting its highest level since May 8 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures were steady at $3,390.
The metal gained about 2.7% in the previous session, marking its strongest daily performance in more than three weeks.
“Dollar recovered slightly and gold came down so it has been inversely correlated at this point of time,” said Brian Lan, managing director at GoldSilver Central, Singapore.
However, gold is still closely tracking developments around global trade, and while investors have slightly reduced their positions in gold it is not to the extent seen in previous instances when tensions appeared to ease, said Lan.
The U.S. dollar index (.DXY) recovered slightly from a six-week low.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will likely speak this week, White House said on Monday, days after Trump accused China of violating an agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions.
U.S. tariffs on imported steel and aluminum are scheduled to double to 50% starting on Wednesday, coinciding with the Trump administration’s deadline for countries to submit their best offers in trade negotiations.
The European Commission said on Monday it would make a strong case this week for the U.S. to reduce or eliminate tariffs despite Trump’s decision to double import duties on steel and aluminum.
Meanwhile, Russia told Ukraine at peace talks on Monday that it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army, according to a memorandum reported by Russian media.
Elsewhere, spot silver fell 2.1% to $34.07 an ounce, platinum was steady at $1,062.46 and palladium was up 0.1% at $990.26.
