Causes leading to the impressive recovery of gold prices last night

World gold prices reversed to increase in the trading session on May 2nd (Vietnam time) after the market received a series of negative US economic data, thereby promoting cash flow back to the precious metal.

At 11:53 PM on May 1st, world gold prices were listed around the threshold of 4,637.1 USD/ounce, up 16.7 USD/ounce.

The recovery took place after the precious metals market suffered downward pressure in the previous night's session, before rebounding when the North American session opened.

The main driving force comes from a report by the US Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Accordingly, the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing in April remained unchanged at 52.7%, lower than analysts' expectations of 53.1%. Although still above the 50 point mark - reflecting the expansion of manufacturing activity - this result shows that the growth momentum is slowing down.

Notably, the ISM report reflects that business sentiment continues to be strongly influenced by geopolitical and trade factors. Conflict in Iran is mentioned in nearly half of the surveyed opinions, while tariff barriers continue to put pressure on production activities.

Ms. Susan Spence – Chairman of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee – said that the overwhelming rate of negative opinions shows that businesses are facing many instabilities. According to her, these factors are weakening the short-term growth prospects of the US manufacturing industry.

Not only has growth stalled, price pressure has also increased significantly. The price index in the ISM report increased sharply to 84.6%, compared to 78.3% in the previous month, reflecting the escalation of input costs.

This development increases concerns about the risk of "inflation stagnation" – when economic growth weakens but inflation remains high. This is often a favorable environment for gold, as investors turn to safe haven assets.

Analysts believe that, in the context of economic data sending mixed signals and geopolitical risks not cooling down, gold prices may continue to receive support in the short term, although still facing pressure from expectations of high interest rates.