- Gold prices hit $3,000 an ounce for the first time on Friday amid Trump’s trade war tensions.
- Investors seek gold as a safe haven due to geopolitical risks and tariffs.
- Central banks, especially China, are likely to keep buying gold, supporting its price rise.
Gold prices hit $3,000 a troy ounce for the first time on Friday.
The price of gold — a time-tested safe-haven asset — has hit a series of record highs this year.
Spot gold prices rose as much as 0.4% to just over $3,004 an ounce at 6:30 a.m. ET. By just after 8 a.m. ET, the price was hovering just below the $3,000 threshold.
The new peak comes as investors rush to the store of value to hedge against risk from President Donald Trump’s trade war.
On Thursday, he threatened to impose 200% tariffs on European alcohol imports in retaliation against tariffs the European Union announced this week.
The EU imposed the tariffs after the US imposed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports that took effect Wednesday.
Gold prices have been on a tear, gaining about 15% this year as investors snap up the haven asset over fears of an economic slowdown.
“Markets are fixated on the fallout of broad tariffs that the Trump administration has levied,” the World Gold Council wrote last month.
The council said its analysis showed geopolitical risk rose significantly in January, boosting prices of the metal even on the back of a strong dollar — which typically weighs on dollar-denominated gold.
This year’s gold rally follows strong central bank gold buying, especially from China, last year. This trend is expected to persist this year, supporting gold prices.
According to the World Gold Council, Poland’s central bank bought the most gold last year, 90 metric tons. The US holds the most gold, more than 8,000 tons.
“Central banks are still buying and will probably continue to do so as geopolitical tensions and the economic climate continue to push them to increase their allocation towards safe-haven assets,” wrote Ewa Manthey, a commodities strategist at ING, last month.
She added that Trump’s broad tariffs could apply to gold, further boosting the precious metal’s price.
“If tariffs on gold are applied, this would lead to higher and more volatile gold prices in the US and a potential reshuffle of trade routes,” she wrote.
In 2024, Mexico accounted for around 30% of US imports of gold and Canada for around 15%.
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