Gold prices fell by more than 2% on Friday, ending the week with total losses of over 4% — its weakest weekly performance since November 2024. The pullback was driven largely by a stronger U.S. dollar, which posted its fourth consecutive weekly gain, and by a decline in safe-haven demand after a temporary easing in U.S.-China trade tensions.
The retreat follows gold’s record high of $3,500.05 per ounce reached last month, a peak supported by robust central bank purchases and investor concerns about trade friction. At the same time, recent indicators showing slower U.S. inflation and softer economic data have raised expectations for potential Federal Reserve rate cuts — a factor that normally supports bullion by reducing real yields and the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets.
Despite those inflation signals, the immediate market reaction favored the dollar and risk assets, pressuring gold. Traders weighed the conflicting forces of possible future monetary easing against a stronger currency and improvement in global risk sentiment, the latter of which can reduce demand for safe-haven assets like gold.
Other precious metals also weakened during the same period. Silver slipped nearly 2%, while platinum and palladium registered smaller declines. The broader precious metals complex remains sensitive to shifts in interest-rate expectations, currency moves and geopolitics, so prices may continue to fluctuate as new economic data and policy signals emerge.