Gold’s latest surge a sign it will test $3,000/oz this year

US President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium sent gold to record highs on worries of widening trade conflict and inflation, said Reuters.Investors flocked to the safe-haven asset, with spot gold up 0.3% at $2,916.37 per ounce as of 9am in Johannesburg after earlier reaching $2,942.70.“Its surge reflects a combination of ongoing central bank buying to diversify away from the dollar, safe haven demand and positive momentum driving more buyers,” Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP in Sydney told the newswire later on Tuesday.“Gold remains in a sweet spot, with little standing in its way,” Westpac Banking Corp. analyst Richard Franulovich said in a note reported by Bloomberg News.“An intrinsically unpredictable and disruptive Trump, hurtling tariff threats at allies and adversaries alike, alongside the threats of 100% tariffs on the BRICs if they diversify away from the dollar, all point to a lift in gold’s safe-haven appeal.”China’s central bank expanded its gold reserves for a third month in January, signalling ongoing commitment to diversify holdings even with prices at historically high levels, said Bloomberg News.Banks including Citigroup Inc forecast that a test of $3,000 an ounce is in the offing. The bank said last week it expected gold to hit that level within three months, with geopolitical tensions and trade wars boosting demand. Bloomberg News cited JPMorgan Private Bank as targetting $3,150 an ounce by year-end.“Until we see clarity on the US policies, both trade-related and economic, it will create an environment for increased levels of gold volatility,” said Joseph Cavatoni, senior market strategist for North America at industry lobby the World Gold Council. “So, while we might see a $3,000 gold price, we expect there could be ongoing movements that bring us back below.”Shares in Chinese steelmakers dipped between 0.145% and 2.62%, while futures in iron ore, the main steelmaking ingredient, erased early gains to trade lower as tariff concerns outweighed weather-related supply disruptions in Australia, Reuters reported.China, the biggest steel maker, is not a top direct exporter of steel to the US but Trump said that China’s exports had forced others to ship more to the US, while rising imports “support a conclusion” of transshipment or processing of steel products via third party countries into the USAfter saying there would be no exemptions, Trump agreed to consider one for Australia following a call with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, adding that Australia was “one of the few” countries with which the United States had a trade surplus. Australia accounts for 1% of U.S. steel imports and 2% of its aluminium imports, Albanese said.The European Union said it would retaliate against US tariffs on European steel and aluminium exports with “firm and proportionate countermeasures”, as officials in Brussels rushed to avert a trade war with Washington.“The EU will act to safeguard its economic interests. We will protect our workers, businesses and consumers,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was quoted as saying by the Financial Times on Tuesday.The post Gold’s latest surge a sign it will test $3,000/oz this year appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com