Gold Prices Decline As Dollar Rises On Hawkish Fed

Gold prices declined on Thursday for a second day running as the Federal Reserve's hawkish pause underpinned the U.S. dollar and weighed on safe-haven demand for the non-yielding precious metal.

Spot gold fell 0.6 percent to $3,343.40 per ounce in European trading while U.S. gold futures were down 1.4 percent at $3,343.94.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve warned of economic uncertainty after leaving interest rates unchanged, as widely expected.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who has been on the receiving end of severe criticism from President Trump for not cutting rates, emphasized that the mandate of resolving the uncertainties around tariffs, inflation and unemployment lies with the White House, and the central bank will change policy stance only when there is more clarity on the direction of the economy.

Investors also await the outcome of upcoming U.S.-China trade talks in Switzerland this weekend, with U.S. President Trump clarifying that he would not pull back tariffs on Chinese goods in order to get China to the negotiating table.

In another significant development, Trump teased a "major" pact in a post to Truth Social, which the New York Times and other outlets reported would be with the U.K. The likely details of the trade pact were not clear.

In geopolitical news, Ukraine accused Russia of launching guided bombs on the Sumy region of northern Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday morning, just a few hours after a three-day ceasefire unilaterally declared by Moscow took effect.

Elsewhere, Oman has announced a ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Yemens Ansarullah movement, but Houthi leaders have insisted on social media that they have no intention of ceasing their attacks.