Safe-haven gold hits record high as Trump announces sweeping tariffs

Gold hit a record high on Thursday, as nervous investors rushed towards safe-haven assets after US President Donald Trump announced more aggressive-than-anticipated tariffs against major trading partners, widening the global trade war.

Fundamentals

• Spot gold was up 0.4 per cent at $3,145.93 an ounce, as of 0018 GMT, after hitting an all-time high of $3,167.57 earlier in the session.
• US gold futures firmed 0.1 per cent at $3,170.70.
• Trump said on Wednesday that he would impose a 10 per cent baseline tariff on all imports to the US and higher duties on dozens of other countries, including some of the United States' biggest trading partners, deepening a trade war that has rattled global markets and bewildered US allies.
• Trump's administration also confirmed that his 25 per cent global car and truck tariffs will take effect as scheduled on April 3 and that duties on automotive parts imports will be launched on May 3.
• Gold, traditionally seen as a hedge against political and financial uncertainty, has surged over 19 per cent so far this year, on the back of uncertainty surrounding tariffs, potential for interest rate cuts, geopolitical conflicts and central bank buying.
• Meanwhile, US private payrolls increased more than expected in March, but that did not change economists' views that the labor market was slowing against the backdrop of mounting economic uncertainty due to tariffs.
• All eyes are on the US non-farm payrolls report, due Friday, for further clues on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path.
• Spot silver slipped 1.2 per cent to $33.61 an ounce, while platinum fell 0.8 per cent to $975.93 and palladium lost 0.6 per cent to $964.56. 

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