Gold Rises on Rising Geopolitical, Trade Tensions
Gold rose after dropping 2% last week — as rising geopolitical and trade tensions revived demand for the haven asset. Bullion rose as much as 0.8% in Asia after Ukraine launched a series of dramatic drone attacks across Russia on Sunday, hitting airfields as far away as eastern Siberia. Around the same time, Moscow launched one of its longest-ever offensives against Kyiv, ahead of crucial peace talks this week.
President Donald Trump also stoked more concerns over global trade over the weekend, vowing to double tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum imports to 50%, with Canada’s industry minister warning it would retaliate. There were also signs a U.S.-China truce was under threat after Trump accused Beijing of reneging on a deal reached last month. All of that restored some of gold’s appeal as a haven asset, which had waned somewhat since hitting a record high above $3,500 an ounce in April. The metal is still up more than a quarter this year, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said last week that it would remain a hedge against inflation in its long-term portfolio, along with oil.
Spot gold rose 0.7% to $3,313.52 an ounce as of 8:12 a.m. in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%. Silver, platinum and palladium all edged up.
Looking ahead, there are a slew of labor market indicators due this week — including the May jobs report that will help guide U.S. monetary policy.
Source: Bloomberg
