Investing.com– Gold prices edged lower in Asian trading on Thursday, extending steep losses from the previous session after Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 election sparked a rally in the dollar and risk assets .
The yellow metal also suffered a heavy dose of profit-taking, after hitting a series of record highs in the run-up to the election. But despite recent losses, gold held on to most of its gains from last month.
Gold edged lower at $2,658.03 an ounce, while December expirings were down 0.4% at $2,664.70 an ounce as of 07:30.
Gold under pressure from rising dollar after Trump victory
Spot gold prices fell more than 3% on Wednesday after Trump's victory saw it rally to four-month highs.
The rapid conclusion of a hotly contested presidential election also lifted a key point of uncertainty for global financial markets, sparking a risk-on rally across the world, while putting pressure on safe-haven assets such as gold.
But the yellow metal found a floor on Thursday as uncertainty remained with Trump saying he would choose his cabinet. The president-elect also promised to raise tariffs on China, which could spark a new trade war between the world's largest economies.
Trump is also expected to adopt more inflationary policies during his term, which could support interest rates and put pressure on low-yielding assets such as gold.
On Thursday, the focus was also on the conclusion of a Federal Reserve meeting later in the day, at which the central bank is expected to .
However, markets have been hesitant about the signals the Fed will send regarding future rate cuts, particularly in the face of stagnant inflation and a Trump presidency.
Other precious metals fell on Thursday. Gold was down 0.6% at $988.40 an ounce, while silver was down 0.9% at $31.035 an ounce, with both metals also suffering significant losses in recent sessions.
Copper on the rise, Chinese imports remain stable
Among industrial metals, the price of copper rose on Thursday, recovering some of its recent losses as China's trade data showed the country's copper imports remained stable in October.
The benchmark on the London Metal Exchange rose 1.3% to $9,444.50 a tonne, while the December price rose 1.4% to $4.2980 a pound. Both contracts slipped between 4% and 5% on Wednesday as markets feared increased economic headwinds for China due to a Trump presidency.
China is the world's largest importer of copper, and fears of slowing demand in the country have weighed on prices in recent months.
Nonetheless, Thursday's data showed that China imported 506,000 metric tons of unworked copper and copper products in October, up 1.1% year-on-year.
