March 6 (Reuters) – Gold inched up on Thursday, helped by a pullback in the U.S. dollar, while investors awaited U.S. nonfarm payrolls data due on Friday to assess the Federal Reserve’s interest rate trajectory as global trade tensions escalated.
Spot gold firmed 0.1% to $2,921.19 an ounce as of 0625 GMT, while U.S. gold futures also added 0.1% to $2,929.30.
The dollar index wallowed near a four-month trough as the U.S. exempted automakers from the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for a month as long as they complied with existing free trade rules.
U.S. President Donald Trump is also open to hearing about other products that should be exempted from the tariffs, the White House said.
“A (possible) delay in the tariff war by the U.S. has pushed the dollar lower and, because of that, gold is supported,” Reliance Securities’ senior analyst Jigar Trivedi said.
“The broad undertone is really positive in gold.”
Trump’s tariffs have strained relations with Canada, Mexico, and China. While Canada and China have responded with tariffs of their own on select U.S. imports, Mexico has vowed to retaliate.
Worries over Trump’s tariff policies pushed safe-haven gold to a record high of $2,956.15 on February 24 and helped it gain more than 11% year-to-date.
Gold is considered a hedge against political uncertainties and inflation.
“The $3,000 psychological level for gold appears increasingly within reach as prices resume their upward trajectory following a brief retracement,” said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.
The market now awaits the non-farm payrolls report, which is expected to show a gain of 160,000 jobs for February, economists surveyed by Reuters said.
Spot silver eased 0.1% to $32.6 an ounce, platinum was steady at $965.6 and palladium rose 0.2% to $944.00.
