Gold extends its retreat from an all-time high, falls 3%

Gold on Wednesday extended its retreat from an all-time high, falling more than 3%, as appetite for riskier assets improved after President Donald Trump said he has no plans to fire the US central bank chief and also signalled progress with China on the tariff front.

- Agencies

Spot gold slipped 3.2% to $3,274.35 an ounce by 11:40 a.m. ET (1540 GMT), after hitting a record high of $3,500.05 in the previous session. US gold futures dropped 3.9% to $3,286.30.

"The market is starting to move past the tariff crash. You're going to see a broad rotation out of some of the safe haven assets back chasing some of the specific names like Apple, Tesla," said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures.

Sentiment in wider financial markets improved and the dollar rebounded after President Trump backed off from threats to fire Jerome Powell after days of intensifying criticism of the Federal Reserve chief for not cutting interest rates.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that he believes excessively high tariffs between the US and China will have to come down before trade negotiations can proceed.

Gold, used as a safe store of value during times of political and financial uncertainty, has gained more than 26% since the start of 2025, boosted by central bank buying, tariff war fears and strong investment demand.