Investing.com – Gold prices fell sharply as a stronger-than-expected private sector jobs data and somewhat reconciliatory comments from the White House suggesting that Trump may exempt Canada, Mexico from tariffs offset safe-haven demand.
Gold futures for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $10.00, or 0.74%, to $1,325.30 a troy ounce.
The White House said that President Donald Trump may exempt Canada, Mexico from tariffs, easing days of investor fears over the prospect of a global trade war.
"We expect that the President will sign something by the end of the week. And there are potential carve-outs for Mexico and Canada based on national security and possibly other countries as well based on that process," said Press Sec. Sanders Wednesday, when asked if countries will be able to get exemptions from tariffs, CNBC reported.
That eased safe-haven demand, denting appetite for safe-haven gold which had earlier hit one-month highs on political uncertainty in Washington after economic advisor Gary Cohn resigned.
A rise in the dollar also weighed on gold prices after an economic report showed the private sector labor market remained robust, raising the prospect of above-forecast nonfarm payrolls data due Friday.
Private payrolls grew by 235,000 in February, according to a report released Wednesday by ADP and Moody's Analytics. That beat economists’ forecast of 195,000, and raised investor expectations for a bullish nonfarm payrolls print due Friday as ADP data often serves as precursor to nonfarm payrolls.
Gold is sensitive to moves higher in the U.S. dollar – a stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of foreign currency, thus, reduces investor demand for the precious metal.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures fell 1.87% to $16.47 a troy ounce, while platinum futures lost 1.78% to $953.80 an ounce.
Copper fell 0.76% to $3.14, while natural gas added 1.16% to $2.78.