US President Donald Trump has signalled a more conciliatory approach in the ongoing trade conflict with China. He announced a significant reduction in tariffs imposed on Chinese goods and stated that there are no current plans to remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. These developments have eased global market tensions, which are already being reflected in commodity prices.
According to Reuters, the price of gold has dropped by 3% from its all-time high. In the spot market on Wednesday (April 23), gold fell from USD 3,500.5 per ounce to USD 3,281.6. At an exchange rate of BDT 122 per USD, that's about BDT 400,355. Consequently, the global market price for per bhori (a traditional South Asian unit) of gold now stands at around BDT 165,000.
In the US futures market, gold settled at USD 3,294.1 per ounce, down 3.7%, equivalent to approximately BDT 401,880.
Analysts say that Trump's announcement on tariff reductions revived investor confidence. Moreover, his decision to step back from earlier threats to fire Federal Reserve Chair Powell, after criticising him for not cutting interest rates, helped calm markets and strengthen the US dollar.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant told Reuters, "I believe a significant reduction in high tariffs is necessary before US–China trade negotiations can move forward.''
The ongoing US–China trade tensions and fears of a global recession have created widespread economic uncertainty. In this environment, investors have turned to gold as a safe-haven asset.
Central banks worldwide have also increased their gold reserves. As a result, gold prices have surged by over 26% since the beginning of the year.
