Gold Declines Amid Global Market Turmoil

Gold prices declined in local markets during trading on Friday, with the ounce declining on the global stock exchange. Profit-taking pressures continued amid global market turmoil, along with the release of mixed economic data.

Gold prices fell by about 20 Egyptian pounds during today's trading, compared to yesterday's closing price. The price of a gram of 21-karat gold reached 4,405 Egyptian pounds, while an ounce fell by about $56 to $3,079.

A gram of 24-karat gold reached 5,034 Egyptian pounds, a gram of 18-karat gold reached 3,776 Egyptian pounds, a gram of 14-karat gold reached 2,937 Egyptian pounds, and the gold pound reached 35,240 Egyptian pounds. According to the daily report of the "iSaaga" platform, gold prices in local markets fell by about 10 Egyptian pounds during trading yesterday, Thursday. The price of a gram of 21-karat gold opened at 4,435 Egyptian pounds, touched $4,400, and closed at 4,425 Egyptian pounds. Meanwhile, an ounce rose on the global stock exchange by $1, opening at $3,134, touching $3,085, and closing at $3,135.

Gold prices attempted to regain the $3,100 level at the start of trading today, following China's response to US tariffs, but prices declined again following the release of US jobs data.

Gold markets witnessed a sharp decline in trading yesterday, Thursday, due to profit-taking following US President Donald Trump's announcement of new tariffs. Gold prices had reached their highest levels on Thursday, reaching $3,168, before experiencing a sharp decline. Profit-taking diminished after China imposed 34% tariffs on all US goods effective April 10. Gold has benefited from an increasingly volatile trade, macroeconomic, and geopolitical environment this year, having risen nearly 18% this year.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that US nonfarm payrolls rose by 228,000 jobs in March. This followed a 117,000-job gain (revised from 151,000) in February, significantly exceeding market expectations of 135,000 jobs.

Other details in the report showed that the unemployment rate rose slightly from 4.1% to 4.2%, while the labor force participation rate increased from 62.4% to 62.5%. Finally, the annual wage inflation rate, measured by the change in average hourly earnings, fell from 4% to 3.8%. After weeks of uncertainty, President Donald Trump announced his global tariffs on imports, but exempted precious metals, along with copper, steel, and aluminum. This made the increased stocks in New York's vaults unnecessary, and there was no longer any justification for shipping gold to the United States as much as before.

Comex gold inventories have risen by 720 tons since the beginning of the year, with an additional 18 tons added yesterday. This additional demand is likely to stop now, or at least decline significantly in the future.

Markets are now anticipating a 100 basis point Federal Reserve interest rate cut by the end of the year, amid growing risks of inflation in the United States due to tariffs. Scenarios are increasingly suggesting the United States could slide into stagflation, suggesting a significant decline in real interest rates and, consequently, a rise in the price of gold. The trade tariffs imposed by the White House administration have increased the likelihood of a stagflation's environment in the United States. Given that the world has not experienced a stagflation's environment since the 1970s and early 1980s, there will be more uncertainty regarding the implementation of monetary policies to offset weak economic growth, which in turn benefits gold as a hedge.

Weak US stock markets will also support gold as an important risk hedge. Despite profit-taking on Thursday, gold continues to outperform equity markets.

Gold prices have risen 32.5% over the past 12 months, rising more than 18% in the first quarter of 2025. Gold also recorded its best quarterly performance in 39 years.