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Trump sends personal note to Powell on rates

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Higher tariffs loom after July 9 deadline, says Bessent

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US dollar index falls to over 3-year low

(Updates for Asia morning hours)

By Anmol Choubey

July 1 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Tuesday, supported by a

weaker dollar and heightened uncertainty over U.S. President

Donald Trump's tariff policies ahead of the July 9 deadline,

driving investors toward safe-haven assets.

Spot gold was up 0.4% at $3,315.26 per ounce, as of

0229 GMT, while U.S. gold futures rose 0.6% to

$3,326.50.

"Weaker dollar and concerns about the impact if Trump's

tariff deadline is not extended are supporting gold at the

moment," said Nicholas Frappell, global head of institutional

markets at ABC Refinery.

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.1% to a more than

three-year low, making bullion more affordable for holders of

other currencies.

Trump expressed frustration with U.S.-Japan trade

negotiations on Monday as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

warned that countries could be notified of sharply higher

tariffs, as a July 9 deadline approaches despite good-faith

negotiations.

Meanwhile, Trump continued to press the Federal Reserve on

Monday to ease monetary policy, sending Fed Chair Jerome Powell

a list of global central bank interest rates, annotated with

handwritten comments saying U.S. rates should be between Japan's

0.5% and Denmark's 1.75%.

"I think (Trump's call to lower interest rates) is also

having an impact on the market although I am a bit surprised

that the market is that optimistic about rate cuts," Frappell

said.

Bessent said the administration is considering using the

next expected Fed Board of Governors vacancy in early 2026 to

appoint a successor to Powell.

Investors are closely monitoring a series of U.S. labour

market reports in this holiday-shortened trading week,

culminating in Thursday's government payrolls data, for insights

into the Fed's monetary policy direction.

The market is currently anticipating a 67-basis-point rate

cut beginning in September.

Spot silver fell 0.8% to $35.80 per ounce, platinum

was down 0.7% to $1,343.61, while palladium gained

0.9% to $1,107.25.