Gold Gains as Traders Weigh Middle East Tensions, Trump Tariffs
Gold rose as tensions escalated in the Middle East, and President Donald Trump ratcheted up trade uncertainty by saying he intends to impose unilateral tariffs on dozens of US trading partners within two weeks.
Gold climbed as much as 1% following a CBS report overnight that Israel was ready to launch an operation aimed at Iran, prompting the US to move some embassy staff out of Iraq and allowing military families to leave the region. A gauge of the greenback fell 0.6%.
Meanwhile, Iran said it would establish a new uranium-enrichment center in response to a decision by the United Nations atomic watchdog to censure the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program, deepening the crisis that’s drawn in the US and Israel.
Separately, Trump said he intended to set unilateral tariff rates with trading partners in the next week or two, ahead of a July 9 deadline to reimpose higher duties on dozens of economies. The president also said a trade framework with China has been completed, with levies between the two largest economies to be maintained at their current levels.
Uncertainties over global trade and heightened geopolitical risks have rattled markets this year, boosting gold’s allure as a safe haven and powering a year-to-date advance of 29%.
Spot gold was up 0.9% to $3,385.27 as of 12:13 p.m. London time. Bullion had wavered earlier Thursday morning as a gauge of the greenback whipsawed. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index extended losses to fall 0.6%. Platinum rose, while silver was steady and palladium fell.
Source : Bloomberg
