XAU/USD: Gold Crashes in $200 Wipeout After Trump Softens Stance on Powell, China

Precious metal sold off more than 5.5% in two days after it hit a record of $3,500 per ounce.

🚨 Gold Slides Hard as Trump Drama Cools

• Gold XAUUSD plunged over $200 from its record high, with prices dropping more than 5.5% in just two days, as markets quickly unwound safe-haven bets following a surprising shift in tone from President Trump.
• After briefly touching an all-time high of $3,500 per ounce yesterday, gold tumbled to $3,308 Wednesday morning as Trump walked back threats to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell and signaled a more moderate stance on tariffs against China. The sharp reversal triggered a wave of profit-taking, sending bullion into its steepest two-day drop in months.

🧐 Panic Premium in Gold Fades

• What changed? A week ago, Trump’s war of words with “major loser” Powell and sky-high tariff talk had investors fleeing into gold, bracing for central bank chaos and global trade blowback. But now, with Trump saying he has “no intention” to fire Powell and that the 145% tariff number “will come down substantially,” the panic premium in gold is fading fast.
• The move also coincides with a rally across equities and a rebound in the US dollar — both classic headwinds for gold when risk appetite returns. Futures on equities were up more than 2% ahead of Wednesday’s cash session.

👑 Gold — Still King of the Year

• Gold’s breakneck rally this year has left other megacap assets in the dust. Prior to yesterday’s gains in stocks, gold had outperformed the S&P 500 by a whopping 45%. That’s a 35% rise in the price of bullion against a 10% drop in the valuation of Wall Street’s broad-based index.
• Looking ahead, volatility is expected to continue as markets react to just about everything that Trump posts online. Other than that, it’s a fairly quiet week on the economic news front with no major announcements.