Trump to Nominate One of US 'Trade Hawks' to Head World Bank

David Malpass, Trump’s potential candidate to Head the World Bank (AP)
David Malpass, Trump’s potential candidate to Head the World Bank (AP)
TT

Trump to Nominate One of US 'Trade Hawks' to Head World Bank

David Malpass, Trump’s potential candidate to Head the World Bank (AP)
David Malpass, Trump’s potential candidate to Head the World Bank (AP)

US President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Treasury Department official David Malpass to head the World Bank, according to senior administration officials.

Malpass, 62, Treasury Department’s undersecretary for international affairs, supports Trump and is one of the trade hawks of the current US administration.

Before joining the administration, Malpass was an economic adviser to Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, and he has enthusiastically supported the President’s agenda of tax cuts and deregulation to bolster economic growth.

Paradoxically, Malpass is skeptical of multilateralism and of the World Bank itself. He has earlier said that global organizations like the World Bank “have grown larger and more intrusive” and “the challenge of refocusing them has become urgent and more difficult.”

He also said it is too inefficient and too reluctant to wean developing countries that have become engines of growth.

The US administration plans to announce its selection on Wednesday, reported Politico Newspaper, after Trump delivers his State of the Union address.

Washington has historically been allowed to choose the head of the World Bank although that dynamic has more recently faced pushback from other nations. The US is the World Bank’s largest shareholder. Under an informal trans-Atlantic pact, an American has always run the institution while the managing director of its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund, has always been European.

The nomination risks provoking opposition from countries that have defended the existing global order against Trump’s criticisms. It could reignite calls for the bank to break with tradition and appoint a non-American in a recognition of the growing clout of emerging markets such as China and India.

Malpass has pushed the World Bank to lend less to China, arguing the Asian nation has the financial resources to support itself and has criticized Beijing for not moving fast enough to open up its economy, the world’s second largest.

He struggled at Treasury to retain personnel in his unit, with about 20 career staff members quitting in less than a year. Some of the departing officials decided they couldn’t support the administration’s trade policies, while others chafed at Malpass’s leadership style.



Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
TT

Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

Gold prices rose over 1% to hit a two-week peak on Friday, heading for the best weekly performance in more than a year, buoyed by safe-haven demand as Russia-Ukraine tensions intensified.

Spot gold jumped 1.3% to $2,703.05 per ounce as of 1245 GMT, hitting its highest since Nov. 8. US gold futures gained 1.1% to $2,705.30.

Bullion rose despite the US dollar hitting a 13-month high, while bitcoin hit a record peak and neared the $100,000 level.

"With both gold and USD (US dollar) rising, it seems that safe-haven demand is lifting both assets," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Ukraine's military said its drones struck four oil refineries, radar stations and other military installations in Russia, Reuters reported.

Gold has gained over 5% so far this week, its best weekly performance since October 2023. Prices have gained around $173 after slipping to a two-month low last week.

"We understand that the price setback has been used by 'Western world' investors under-allocated to gold to build exposure considering the geopolitical risks that are still around. So we continue to expect gold to rise further over the coming months," Staunovo said.

Bullion tends to shine during geopolitical tensions, economic risks, and a low interest rate environment. Markets are pricing in a 59.4% chance of a 25-basis-points cut at the Fed's December meeting, per the CME Fedwatch tool.

However, "if Fed skips or pauses its rate cut in December, that will be negative for gold prices and we could see some pullback," said Soni Kumari, a commodity strategist at ANZ.

The Chicago Federal Reserve president reiterated his support for further US interest rate cuts on Thursday.

On Friday, spot silver rose 1.8% to $31.34 per ounce, platinum eased 0.1% to $960.13 and palladium fell 0.6% to $1,023.55. All three metals were on track for a weekly rise.