Gold rises after Trump proposes more tariffs on China

(Reuters) - Gold prices rose on Friday as investors sought safer assets after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed $100 billion in new tariffs on China, raising concerns about an escalating trade spat between the United States and China.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold > was 0.4 percent higher at $1,330.78 per ounce as of 0032 GMT, and the U.S. gold futures rose 0.4 percent to $1,334.10 an ounce.

* Spot gold on Thursday dropped to a one-week low of $1,322.40 an ounce after the United States and China signalled willingness to negotiate a trade dispute.

* However, President Donald Trump late on Thursday said he had instructed U.S. trade officials to consider $100 billion in additional tariffs on China, fuelling an already heated trade dispute between the world's two biggest economies.

 

* U.S. stock markets slid and the yen rose against the dollar on Friday. [MKTS/GLOB]

* Gold-backed exchange traded funds in North America saw inflows in March, amid market volatility and as trade tensions between the United States and China drove safe-haven purchases to bullion, while Europe saw outflows for the second straight month.

* Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.24 percent to 854.09 tonnes on Thursday from 852.03 tonnes on Wednesday. [GOL/ETF]

* Physical gold demand in most Asian hubs was muted this week, weighed down by stronger prices, despite a slight pick-up in buying in India ahead of the wedding season and a key festival. [GOL/AS]

* The U.S. trade deficit increased to a near 9-1/2-year high in February, with both imports and exports rising to record highs in a sign of strong domestic and global demand.

* Koza Ltd, whose founder had to abandon his Turkish gold assets, is expanding its operations in Britain with a $1 million programme to drill for gold in Ayrshire, Scotland, together with a venture partner, the company said on Thursday.

* Swiss refiner Valcambi said it has signed a long-term deal to refine and sell-on gold from a Fairtrade-accredited concession of Peruvian mining co-operative Minera Limata, part of a broader strategy to drive responsible mining.

* International mining companies have insisted that Democratic Republic of Congo amend portions of a new mining code to respect exemptions they were granted by its predecessor.

(Reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael Perry)