Gold Recovers After Sharp Decline Amid Shifting US-China Trade Signals

Gold prices rebounded on Thursday, regaining ground after experiencing their steepest single-day drop in five months, Bloomberg reports.

The recovery came as investors assessed a mix of signals from the United States regarding its trade policy toward China, which had earlier unsettled markets.

Spot gold climbed toward $3,330 an ounce in early Asian trading, following a 2.7% plunge on Wednesday — the metal’s largest one-day loss since November. The earlier selloff was triggered by shifting rhetoric from US officials on the country’s trade stance with China, including a softer tone from President Donald Trump that contrasted with his prior combative remarks.

However, any sense of resolution appeared short-lived. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cast doubt on the prospect of a near-term breakthrough in US-China negotiations, suggesting that the path forward remains uncertain. This helped gold find renewed support from investors who viewed the dip as a buying opportunity.

“The temporary reprieve from Trump has fizzled out,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, an analyst at Singapore-based brokerage Philip Nova Pte. “Investors who missed the dip-buying wagon earlier in April drove the rise today.”

The price action reflects a broader volatility trend seen in gold markets this week. On Tuesday, the precious metal briefly hit a record high above $3,500 an ounce, spurred by escalating tensions over trade and sharp criticism of the Federal Reserve by the president. The gains quickly unraveled over the following two days as markets reacted to the president’s more conciliatory statements.

The turbulent movement in prices extended to China, where gold futures experienced their largest intraday decline since 2013 on Wednesday. Trading volumes in Shanghai surged to a record, underscoring the scale of investor activity during the price swing.

As of late morning in Singapore, gold was trading 1.1% higher at $3,329.16 an ounce, having earlier risen as much as 2.4%. Meanwhile, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index edged slightly lower. Other precious metals saw mixed movements: silver and platinum declined, while palladium was little changed.