Gold Gains on Weaker Dollar; Traders Brace for Fed Rate Decision

FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelry shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelry shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma/File Photo/File Photo
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Gold Gains on Weaker Dollar; Traders Brace for Fed Rate Decision

FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelry shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelry shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma/File Photo/File Photo

Gold prices firmed on Monday, supported by a softer dollar, as investors awaited further details on the US-China trade relations, along with the Federal Reserve's policy meeting due later this week.

Spot gold gained 0.5% to $3,256.85 an ounce, as of 0416 GMT. US gold futures rose 0.7% to $3,265.10.

The dollar was down 0.3% against its rivals, making gold more attractive for other currency holders.

"The US dollar is looking subdued ahead of the Fed meeting this week which is enabling gold to take a mild run higher," KCM Trade's Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer said.

"We may see gold continue to operate in the $3,200-$3,350 range ahead of the Fed meeting. However, any new headlines on the trade deal could cause volatility to tick up once again."

The market's focus will be on the US central bank policy decision and speeches by several Fed officials due this week, for insights into future monetary policy trajectory.

Traders are now expecting 80 basis points of rate cuts this year starting in July, following the US Labor Department's report on Friday showing larger-than-expected job additions in April.

Non-yielding gold acts as a hedge against global uncertainty and inflation and tends to thrive in a low-interest-rate environment. US President Donald Trump said he will not remove Jerome Powell as Fed Board Chairman before his term ends in May 2026, while reiterating his call for the Fed to cut interest rates.

Trump on Sunday said the US was meeting with many countries, including China, on trade deals, and his main priority with China was to secure a fair trade deal.

Chinese markets are closed for the Labor Day holiday from May 1-5 and will resume trade on Tuesday, May 6.

Spot silver rose 0.5% to $32.14 an ounce, platinum fell 0.2% to $957.77 and palladium gained 0.2% to $955.28.



IMF Expects to Provide Vulnerable Economies Hit by Iran War Up to $50 bn

FILED - 24 October 2024, US, Washington: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pictured on the facade of the conference building on Pennsylvania Street. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa
FILED - 24 October 2024, US, Washington: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pictured on the facade of the conference building on Pennsylvania Street. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa
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IMF Expects to Provide Vulnerable Economies Hit by Iran War Up to $50 bn

FILED - 24 October 2024, US, Washington: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pictured on the facade of the conference building on Pennsylvania Street. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa
FILED - 24 October 2024, US, Washington: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pictured on the facade of the conference building on Pennsylvania Street. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa

The International Monetary Fund expects to have to provide up to $50 billion in immediate financial assistance to countries affected by the Middle East war, its managing director said on Thursday, with the crisis likely to have lasting economic effects.

"Given the spillovers of the Middle East war, we expect near-term demand for IMF balance-of-payments support to rise to somewhere between $20 billion and $50 billion, with the lower bound prevailing if the ceasefire holds," Kristalina Georgieva said, according to prepared remarks shared with AFP.

She added that food insecurity due to transport and supply chain disruptions caused by the war was expected to affect at least 45 million people.

"Even in a best case, there will be no neat and clean return to the status quo ante," she said, as a fragile ceasefire appeared to hold on Thursday.

The IMF will pare its global growth forecast for 2026 based on the impact of the crisis, with spiraling energy costs hitting some vulnerable economies harder than others.

Georgieva said that even in the Fund's "most hopeful scenario," infrastructure damage, supply disruptions and a loss of market confidence among other "scarring effects" meant growth would be less than expected.

She highlighted the "asymmetric" effects of the crisis, hitting low-income energy importers with limited fiscal space much harder than others.

"Spare a thought for the Pacific Island nations at the end of a long supply chain, wondering if fuel will still reach them in the wake of such a severe disruption," she said.


Cyprus' Aphrodite Signs 15-year Natgas Supply Deal with Egypt

A general view of a beach in Limassol, Cyprus, March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
A general view of a beach in Limassol, Cyprus, March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
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Cyprus' Aphrodite Signs 15-year Natgas Supply Deal with Egypt

A general view of a beach in Limassol, Cyprus, March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
A general view of a beach in Limassol, Cyprus, March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou

Cyprus' offshore Aphrodite field signed a 15-year deal to sell natural gas to the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, one of the ⁠partners in Aphrodite said on ⁠Thursday.

NewMed Energy said a binding term sheet was signed for ⁠the sale of all of the natural gas quantities recoverable from the Aphrodite reservoir with the national Egyptian gas company.

The term could ⁠be ⁠extended by another five years, Reuters quoted it as saying.

Last month, Egypt and Cyprus signed a framework agreement for cooperation on gas.


Simsek: Türkiye Ready with Other Measures if War Shock Persists

FILE PHOTO: Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek speaks during a meeting of Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 11, 2024. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek speaks during a meeting of Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 11, 2024. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
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Simsek: Türkiye Ready with Other Measures if War Shock Persists

FILE PHOTO: Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek speaks during a meeting of Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 11, 2024. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek speaks during a meeting of Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) in Istanbul, Türkiye, July 11, 2024. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

The impact on Türkiye's economy of the conflict in the Middle East may be temporary and reversible if the recent ceasefire holds, and authorities are ready with a different set of tools if the shock persists, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Thursday.

In an interview on broadcaster Haberturk, Simsek ⁠said authorities are prepared ⁠with a new response beyond steps already taken if the newly agreed US-Iran ceasefire does not hold.

According to Reuters, he did not detail the potential response but said authorities' "main scenario" was for a month-long ⁠war, adding that a three-month conflict would be bad.

This week's ceasefire has mostly halted the more than five-week war that gripped the Middle East and sent energy prices soaring, although Israel bombed more targets in Lebanon on Thursday, potentially jeopardizing the deal.

Simsek said the central bank's reserves had fallen by $48.7 billion since ⁠the ⁠war began and that some $162 billion remained. They will rebound to pre-crisis levels once the war ends, he said.

If the ceasefire does not hold, he said, the risks included global recession and stagflation, and in any case it would likely take months for disrupted global supply chains to return to pre-war levels.