Gold Edges Up as Traders Weigh Trump Tax Bill, US Trade Talks

Gold rose slightly, supported by a dip in the dollar, as Senate negotiations continued over President Donald Trump’s $4.5 trillion tax package and US trade talks progressed ahead of a July 9 deadline, Bloomberg reported.

Bullion rose 0.3% on Monday, following two consecutive weekly declines. Republicans are seeking to convince holdouts to support the tax bill for final passage, with a vote set to spill into Monday. The bill’s cost has been a big problem for fiscal conservatives amid concerns that it will further swell the deficit.

Meanwhile, with just 10 days to go until Trump’s country-specific tariffs are set to resume, investors were weighing signs of potential progress following recent comments from top White House advisers that indicated the US is nearing trade agreements with several nations.

There’s still plenty of uncertainty over the scope of the deals currently being discussed. If Trump’s only two other accords — with China and the UK — offer any indication, the pacts likely won’t be fulsome deals that resolve core issues and may leave many specifics to be negotiated later.

Gold is up by about a quarter this year and is trading around $210 short of April’s record, supported by demand for havens as investors grappled with elevated geopolitical and trade tensions. Still, the metal is on track for its first monthly decline this year as concerns about the Middle East conflict ease, and the US economy shows an improvement in consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.

Spot gold was up 0.3% to $3,284.98 an ounce as of 10:41 a.m. in London. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.2%. Silver, platinum and palladium all climbed.