Gold Climbs as Rising Geopolitical and Trade Tensions Aid Havens
Gold rose after falling by 2% last week as an increase in geopolitical and trade tensions revived demand for haven assets.
Bullion climbed as much as 0.8% in Asia after Ukraine staged a dramatic series of drone strikes across Russia on Sunday, hitting airfields as far away as eastern Siberia. Around the same time, Moscow launched one of its longest attacks against Kyiv, ahead of crucial peace talks this week.
President Donald Trump also stoked more worries over global trade at the weekend, vowing to double import tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum to 50%, with Canada’s industry minister warning that it would retaliate. There are also signs the US-China truce is at risk after Trump accused Beijing of reneging on an agreement reached last month.
All of that is restoring some of gold’s haven appeal, which has ebbed somewhat since it hit a record high above $3,500 an ounce in April. The precious metal is still up more than a quarter so far this year though, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. saying last week it would remain a hedge against inflation in long-term portfolios, along with oil.
Spot gold rose 0.8% to $3,314.36 an ounce as of 12:52 p.m. in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped. Silver rose, while platinum and palladium edged lower.
Looking ahead, there are a slew of labor-market indicators due this week including the May employment report which will help to steer US monetary policy.
Source: Bloomberg
