Gold nears $5,000, silver shines as stocks slip on turbulent week ~ EconomyLens.com

London (AFP) – Global stocks were subdued and precious metals hit fresh highs Friday after a turbulent week that saw US President Donald Trump back down from threats to seize Greenland and hit European allies with fresh tariffs. Gold — a safe-haven asset — pushed closer to a record $5,000 an ounce despite “a calmer end to a chaotic week on the markets,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. Fellow safe haven silver also continued its rise, blasting through $101 an ounce amid worries over what Trump may say, or actually do, next.

“Gold nudged ahead…as investors were reluctant to let go of their safety blanket, just in case Donald Trump woke up with another controversial idea,” said Coatsworth. Sentiment has calmed over the past two days after the US president pulled back from his threat to hit several European nations with levies because of their opposition to Washington taking over the Danish autonomous territory. European markets sought direction in vain, Frankfurt closing just in the green as London and Paris fell to the red side of the line at the end of the week. Wall Street was a similar picture, with the Dow losing 0.6 percent around two hours into trading although the broader-based S&P and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were just in positive territory. Intel plunged 16 percent after lacklustre expectations on the chip maker’s earnings. Asian markets closed higher.

– Powell under pressure –

Trump’s latest salvo against allies revived trade war fears and uncertainty about US investment, putting downward pressure on the dollar this week. Analysts said there was no guarantee that Europe-US relations had improved durably. The US president’s willingness to threaten tariffs over any issue had rattled confidence on trading floors, boosting safe-haven metals, analysts said. Investors were also preparing for next week’s Federal Reserve meeting following economic data broadly in line with forecasts and after US prosecutors took aim at boss Jerome Powell, which has raised fears over the bank’s independence. The bank is tipped to hold interest rates, having cut them in the previous three meetings. The meeting also comes as Trump considers candidates to replace Powell when the Fed chair’s term comes to an end in May.

The Bank of Japan left its key interest rate unchanged ahead of the country’s snap election next week, which could impact government spending plans. After sharp volatility in the wake of the announcement, the yen traded slightly higher. Next week’s US earnings calendar is packed with results from Apple, Microsoft, Boeing, Tesla, Meta, and other corporate giants.