Gold Hits Fresh Record as US Economic Fears Stoke Haven Demand
Gold rose to a record as President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff agenda and a weak inflation report fanned fears about the outlook for US growth, driving investors to scoop up safer assets.
Bullion climbed to $2,989.98 an ounce in early trading in Asia on Friday, beating the previous all-time high reached on Thursday.
The metal’s latest milestone comes after US data showed wholesale inflation stagnated in February due to a sharp decline in trade margins. The print supported the case for looser monetary policy, as US officials seek to tame persistent price pressures. Lower borrowing costs tend to boost gold, as it doesn’t pay interest.
Elsewhere, yields on 10- and 30-year Treasuries reached their highest levels so far this month, with investors flocking to US government bonds as fading expectations for American economic growth weighed on stocks. Gold was boosted by lower yields and haven demand after the S&P 500 on Thursday tumbled into its first 10% correction in almost two years, with about $5 trillion in market capitalization wiped out since a peak in February.
Sentiment took a further hit on Thursday as Trump threatened to enact a 200% tariff on European wine, champagne and other alcoholic beverages. He also said he would not repeal levies on steel and aluminum that took effect this week, nor back off plans for sweeping reciprocal tariffs on global trading parters set to start as soon as April 2.
Banks are increasingly confident that Trump’s disruptive trade policies, coupled with other concerns, will drive further gains in gold. This week, Macquarie Group forecast for a spike to $3,500 an ounce in the second quarter, while BNP Paribas SA raised its outlook to show average prices well above $3,000.
Spot gold was trading at $2,986.22 an ounce at 6:44 a.m. in Singapore, on track on track for a weekly gain of 2.7%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat. Silver was steady, after rallying more than 5% during the previous three sessions. Platinum and palladium were little changed.
Source: Bloomberg
