Gold price falls sharply at start of week – Commerzbank

The price of Gold came under significant pressure yesterday, Commerzbank's commodity analyst Carsten Fritsch notes.

Gold imports into the US remain tariff-free

"The internationally traded price lost more than $50, or 1.6%, falling to just over $3,340 per troy ounce. The Gold futures contract on the Comex in New York even fell by around $90 or 2.5% to $3,400 per troy ounce. A distinction must therefore be made between general factors weighing on prices and factors that only weighed on the Comex price. General factors include a stronger US dollar and renewed hopes for an end to the war in Ukraine."

"The Comex price was additionally weighed down by expectations that the US government would repeal the tariffs announced by the US Customs and Border Protection on imports of certain Gold bars into the US, meaning that imports of these bars, which are important for Comex, would remain tariff-free. A large Gold refinery in Switzerland had previously halted Gold deliveries to the US due to the uncertainty surrounding tariffs, a top manager at the refinery told Reuters."

"US President Trump finally confirmed in a social media post that no import tariffs on Gold would be introduced. Silver also declined in the wake of Gold, while platinum recovered its interim losses. Palladium, on the other hand, gained significantly. The picture for precious metals was therefore mixed yesterday. Today, the focus is likely to be on US inflation data. If these figures are again moderate, pressure on the Fed to cut interest rates would increase further. Gold would then probably benefit."