Gold (XAU/USD) steadies in the $2,660s on Thursday after falling three percent on the previous day when now President-elect Donald Trump had secured a victory in the US presidential election.
Gold's steep decline on Wednesday was partly a result of the US Dollar (USD) strengthening due to Trump’s Dollar-positive economic agenda and preference for pro-tariff protectionism. Since Gold is mainly priced and traded in USD, the stronger Dollar had an immediate negative impact on its price.
Trump won the presidency by passing the 270 electoral votes threshold. On Thursday, Trump has 295 votes to Harris’ 226, according to the Associated Press. The Republican party also has a majority in the United States (US) Senate – 52 over 44 – and is in the lead to win a majority in the US Congress, with 206 seats versus the Democrat’s 191 so far, although 38 have still to be called.
The precious metal may have been further hit by investors’ preference for alternative, riskier assets, such as Bitcoin (BTC), which hit a new all-time high due to expectations that Trump would relax crypto regulation. Stocks also rose to record heights due to anticipated tax cuts and a looser regulatory environment overall. These all came at the cost of Gold, which saw outflows as investors rebalanced portfolios.
Gold also rises during geopolitical crises and wars from increased safe-haven demand. Trump’s claims that he can end the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, though seemingly exaggerated (“I will have that (Ukraine-Russia) war settled in one day – 24hrs,” Trump said once), however, probably also hit safe-haven flows.