Today’s gold rate: The MCX gold rate rose and remained over ₹86,000 per 10 gm after US President Donald Trump’s tariff flare. The MCX gold rate saw slight gains against Tuesday’s finish of ₹86,152, opening lower today at ₹86,139 per 10 gm and reaching an intraday high of ₹86,271. By quoting $2,918 per ounce, spot gold prices are maintained above $2,900 per ounce levels in the global market. The price of COMEX gold is $2,924 per troy.

What’s fueling gold prices today?

On reasons for a rally in gold rates today, Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst – Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, said, “Overall weak bias in the US dollar rates and escalating tariff concerns in the US signalled economic uncertainty. Safe-haven buying remained strong, with ETF inflows supporting the bullish sentiment. Additionally, cooling US CPI data raised expectations of a potential rate cut from the Fed, further boosting gold’s appeal. The expected trading range for gold is ₹85,000 to ₹86,500.”

US dollar rates in focus

Advising gold investors to remain vigilant about the US dollar movement, Anuj Gupta, Head — of Commodity & Currency at HDFC Securities, said, “In the current market scenario, it is Trump’s tariff-related news and US dollar index movement, which is dominating the gold price movement. Even though the US dollar index has gained over 0.25 per cent today, it is still around 103.50, which signals weakness in the US currency. This rise may evaporate, and we may witness some strong upside in gold prices across bourses in the near term.”

Donald Trump’s tariff flare

Trump said he was increasing the steel and aluminium tariff on Canadian goods to 50% to retaliate against Ontario’s move to levy electricity sent to the US, ramping up his fight with the US’s largest trading partner. US equities pushed lower, and the dollar fell, helping lift bullions as much as 1.2% higher.

Tariff headlines in recent weeks have created large swings in equities and kept investors on edge. A slew of tepid economic reports in the US have also sparked fears of stagflation, where there’s an upside risk for inflation and a downside risk for economic growth. Altogether, traders were increasingly convinced that a trade-induced growth slowdown would lead the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates multiple times this year.

“That’s going to be a tailwind for gold,” said Stephen Jury, global commodity strategist at JPMorgan Private Bank, in an interview. According to Jury, increasing talk of the possibility of a recession in the US will likely lead to an environment where rates and the dollar may head lower. “That’s going to set up a very constructive scenario for a higher gold price in the second half of this year.”