Gold hits record high as US-China trade war stokes haven demand

Gold rose to a record high, after advancing by almost 1 per cent in the previous session, as the opening salvos of the US-China trade war stoked haven demand.

Bullion reached an all-time peak of $2,848.27 an ounce on Wednesday. That came after President Donald Trump hit Chinese imports with a 10 per cent tariff the day before, prompting a swift but more targeted retaliation from Beijing.

A gauge of the dollar fell on Tuesday — making gold cheaper for many buyers  — with losses accelerating after a US jobs report pointed to a gradual slowdown in the labor market.

The response from China was relatively muted compared to Trump’s first term, when Beijing hit back with tariffs that were almost on par with the US, but there’s still plenty of trepidation about the impact on the world’s two biggest economies.

Markets are also waiting to see if there are any ripple effects for US monetary policy if tariffs reignite inflation. The precious metal should benefit from the uncertain outlook, although may lose some of its luster if interest rates stay high.

Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,847.85 an ounce as of 8:46 am in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat, after a 0.7 per cent loss on Tuesday. Silver dipped, palladium was steady, and platinum edged higher.

Trade-war fears had jolted precious-metals markets even before Trump went ahead with the tariffs on China.

US prices of gold and silver have surged above international benchmarks in recent weeks, prompting dealers and traders to rush huge volumes of the metals into America before any tariffs take effect.

The chaos also led to a spike in lease rates for gold and silver — the return that holders of metal in London’s vaults can get by loaning it out on a short-term basis.