Gold climbs 1% on safe-haven bids as Trump imposes fresh tariffs
Gold prices climbed 1% to a one-week high on Friday as investors rushed towards safe-haven assets after U.S. President Donald Trump widened the global trade war with an announcement of new tariffs.
Spot gold was up 1% to $3,355.89 per ounce by 9:38 a.m. EDT (1338 GMT), its highest price since July 3. U.S. gold futures gained 1.3% to $3,369.00.
Global stocks fell after Trump ramped up his tariff assault on Canada, saying the U.S. would impose a 35% tariff on imports next month and planned to impose blanket tariffs of 15% or 20% on most other trading partners.
Trump this week also announced a 50% tariff on U.S. copper imports and the same levy on goods from Brazil.
"We are in an environment where the uncertainty premium is back in the market and gold is getting a safe-haven bid," said Aakash Doshi, global head of gold strategy at State Street Global Advisors.
"I think the range in the third quarter is most likely between $3,100 and $3,500. It's been a very strong first half of the year, and I believe we're now in a bit more of a consolidation phase."
Non-yielding gold tends to perform well during economic uncertainty and in a low interest rate environment.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Thursday reiterated his belief that the U.S. central bank could cut rates at its policy meeting later this month.
Investors are currently anticipating 50 basis points worth of Fed rate cuts by the end of this year.
Spot silver rose 2.1% to $37.79 per ounce, platinum gained 1.4% to $1,379.15 and palladium climbed 2.6% to $1,171.18.
The premium of the U.S. futures for silver, platinum and palladium against the London benchmarks rose after Trump's copper tariff announcement this week, leading to a spike in lease rates.
Source: Reuters
