Gold heads for weekly loss, spotlight on Trump-Putin talks

Gold prices were steady on Friday but remained on track for a weekly decline, as stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data dampened expectations for interest rate cuts and shifted market attention to the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Spot gold was unchanged at $3,336.66 per ounce at 1:40 p.m. EDT (17:40 GMT), down 1.8% for the week, while U.S. gold futures ended almost flat at $3,382.6. The U.S. dollar weakened, making gold and other dollar-priced commodities more affordable for buyers using other currencies. Data released on Thursday showed U.S. producer prices in July rose at the fastest pace in three years. Traders now price in an 89.1% chance of a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate cut in September, down from about 95% before the data.

Following the release, non-yielding gold slipped 0.6%. Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM, warned that while prices stabilised on Friday, they could face further pressure depending on the outcome of the Trump–Putin summit in Alaska. Geopolitical uncertainty and lower interest rates typically support demand for gold.

Analysts at ANZ forecast that macroeconomic and geopolitical risks will grow in the second half of the year, bolstering gold’s safe-haven appeal. “The bullish outlook for gold remains, backed by the potential for higher tariffs, a slowing global economy, looser U.S. monetary policy, and sustained dollar weakness,” they said.

In other precious metals, spot silver dipped 0.1% to $37.96 per ounce, down 1% for the week. Platinum slid 1.5% to $1,336.80, and palladium dropped 2.6% to $1,116.52.

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