Gold on Wednesday extended its decline from an all-time high, dropping more than 3%, as risk appetite increased after President Donald Trump said he had no plans to fire the U.S. Fed chief and also signaled progress with China on tariffs.

Spot gold fell 3% to $3,281.6 an ounce by 1:43 p.m. ET (1743 GMT), after hitting a record high of $3,500.05 in the previous session. U.S. gold futures fell 3.7% to $3,294.10.

"The market is starting to move past the tariffs. You're going to see a broad rotation out of some of the safe havens back into some of the names like Apple, Tesla," said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures. Sentiment in broader financial markets improved and the dollar bounced back after Trump walked back a threat to fire Jerome Powell after days of intensifying criticism of the Federal Reserve chief for not cutting interest rates.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday he believes the exorbitant tariffs between the U.S. and China must be lowered before trade talks can resume. Gold, used as a safe store of value during times of political and financial uncertainty, has risen more than 26% since the start of 2025, boosted by central bank buying, tariff war fears and strong investment demand. "From a technical perspective, the blowout top around $3,500 and the sharp reversal, in the short term, have raised the risk of a deeper correction," Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said in a note. Silver rose 3% to $33.48 an ounce, platinum gained about 1.1% to $969.1 and palladium was steady at $935.59. (Newsmaker23)

Source: Reuters