Gold Hits Record as Trade War Remains After Powell’s Speech
Gold hit another high as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s warning about the impact of a trade war fueled volatility on Wall Street, sending stocks and the dollar sharply lower.
Bullion rose as much as 0.4% to $3,357.78 an ounce, after rising 3.5% on Wednesday in its biggest one-day gain since March 2023. The dollar fell to a fresh six-month low as traders were again rattled by a series of tariff headlines, while Powell tempered expectations that the Fed would act quickly to calm investors, highlighting the uncertainty of any tariff announcements from Washington.
The precious metal has gained nearly 28% this year surpassing the 27% it had gained in 2024 as the escalating trade war has raised concerns about a possible global recession. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is preparing to pressure countries to curb trade with China in U.S. tariff negotiations.
“The combination of rising uncertainty around tariffs, anticipated slowdown in economic growth, inflation concerns and the rising prospect of lower interest rates provides the perfect backdrop for precious metals to post further gains,” ANZ Research analysts Brian Martin and Daniel Hynes said in a note.
Gold rose 0.3% to $3,351.79 an ounce as of 6:57 a.m. in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed after dropping 0.7% on Wednesday. Silver, platinum and palladium rose.
Source: Bloomberg
