(Bloomberg) — Gold fell for a second day as the White House struck a softer tone on Federal Reserve independence and investors weighed Trump administration comments on trade. Most Read from Bloomberg President Donald Trump on Tuesday said US tariffs “will come down substantially but it won’t be zero,” and that he didn’t see the need to “play hardball” with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, however, said Wednesday that Trump hasn’t offered to take down US tariffs on China on a unilateral basis.

Trump also allayed fears that he plans to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Investors piled into equities and bonds, while bullion tumbled by as much as 3.6%. The signs of softening on China tariffs and a reversal stance on Powell gave the market “an injection of adrenaline, which helped send stock markets sharply higher,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank A/S.

“Having benefited greatly from market worries, gold went in the opposite direction.” SPDR Gold Shares, the world’s largest gold-backed ETF, saw a net outflow of $1.27 billion on Tuesday, the biggest one-day decrease in at least a year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The precious metal is still up by about a quarter this year as the trade war, expectations for a global slowdown, and tensions between the Trump administration and the Federal Reserve combine to fan haven demand. Spot gold fell 3% to $3,279.25 an ounce at 11:43 a.m. in New York.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was up 0.3%. Silver — which had been more than 1% lower in early trading — rose 3%. Platinum and palladium both advanced.

–With assistance from Jack Ryan. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.