Gold maintains record rally as tariff fears spur demand

 Gold prices rose to touch a new record high on Tuesday, as investors turned to the safe-haven asset ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned announcement of sweeping tariffs on countries that have a trade imbalance with the U.S.

Spot gold was up 0.3% at $3,132.53 per ounce as of 10:08 a.m. ET (1408 GMT), after hitting an all-time high of $3,148.88 earlier in the day.

U.S. gold futures were 0.4% higher at $3,164.20.

Robust central bank purchases, as well as a combination of geopolitical and economic uncertainty driven by Trump’s tariff plans, are supporting gold, said Ryan McIntyre, senior portfolio manager at Sprott Asset Management.

“The uncertainty is probably going to prevail for quite a while. We’ll have to see what comes out tomorrow,” McIntyre added.

Markets and consumers are waiting for details of Trump’s planned tariffs, set to be announced on Wednesday. White House aides have drafted plans for tariffs of around 20% on most U.S. imports, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Gold, traditionally seen as a hedge against geopolitical and economic uncertainties, closed out its strongest quarter since 1986 on Monday, and climbed over $3,100/ounce, marking one of the most significant upswings in the precious metal’s history.

Goldman Sachs raised the probability of a U.S. recession to 35% from 20% on Monday, and said it expected more rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Non-yielding bullion thrives in a low-interest rate environment.

“We continue to see the gold prices moving higher,” due in part to increasing gold holdings by physically backed ETFs, McIntyre added.