Gold, silver rise to near record highs on safe-haven demand
Gold rose on Tuesday, after breaking through the $5,100 mark for the first time in the previous session, as safe-haven demand lingered amid geopolitical uncertainty, while silver also hovered near all-time highs.
Spot gold climbed 1% to $5,065.07 per ounce, as of 0329 GMT, after scaling a record $5,110.50 the previous day.
U.S. gold futures for February delivery lost 0.4% to $5,059.90 per ounce.
"Trump's disruptive policy approach this year is playing into the hands of precious metals as a defensive play. The threats of higher tariffs to Canada and South Korea are doing enough to keep gold a safe-haven choice," said Tim Waterer, KCM Trade's chief market analyst.
Making things murkier geopolitically, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he would raise tariffs on South Korean autos, lumber, and pharmaceuticals imports to 25%, while criticizing Seoul for failing to enact a trade deal with Washington.
This was after he threatened tariffs on Canada in the backdrop of a thawing relationship between the two countries, following Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to China earlier this month.
China's Zijin Gold will buy Canada's Allied Gold for about C$5.5 billion ($4.02 billion) in cash, amid record high prices for gold. Gold's unprecedented rally has boosted miners' margins and cash flows, fuelling consolidation.
"The intervention from U.S. and Japanese officials to steady the yen has dented the dollar and has been a boon for the gold price," Waterer added, while the greenback was further pressured by a looming U.S. government shutdown and Trump's erratic policymaking, resulting in cheaper greenback-priced gold for overseas consumers. [USD/]
Bets are for the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady at its meeting beginning later today, amid a Trump administration criminal investigation of Fed chief Powell, an evolving effort to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, and the upcoming nomination of a successor to Powell in May. [FEDWATCH]
Spot silver surged 5.2% to $109.22 an ounce, after hitting a record high of $117.69 on Monday. The white metal has already surged 53% so far this year.
Spot platinum lost 2.5% to $2,658.19 per ounce after hitting a record $2,918.80 in the previous session, while palladium fell 1.3% to $1,956.31.
(Reporting by Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Ediitng by Rashmi Aich)
