Gold suddenly not so sparkly after Trump’s White House victory

By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of gold, which has been at high levels for much of this year, has suddenly become not so golden since Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.

Gold has fallen more than 4% in the four days since Election Day, when the US stock market rose almost 4%. This is despite investors expecting the Trump White House to lower tax rates and raise tariffs. Such a combination could push U.S. government debt and inflation even higher; Both of these could help the price of gold.

This left gold at $2,618 per ounce; late Monday, trailing the record of roughly $2,800 set late last month. This also means that gold has lost some of its luster as the year’s best-performing investments. The largest exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of gold has seen its 2024 gains fall below 27% from around 35% a few weeks ago.

What’s going on? Some of the decline coincided with the strengthening of the US dollar against other major currencies. U.S.-instigated tariffs and trade wars could devalue the euro and other countries’ currencies, and a strong U.S. dollar could make it more expensive for buyers who use other currencies to buy gold.

Trump’s preference for lower taxes and higher tariffs is also forcing Wall Street to scale back expectations for how much the Fed will cut interest rates next year. Any smaller interest rate cuts would mean Treasuries pay more interest than previously expected, which could hurt the price of gold. Gold, which pays zero dividends or income to its holders, may look less attractive when bonds pay more.