Gold prices were looking shinier today as investors feared a renewal of tariff turbulence.
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Bullion climbed 0.5% to around $3,340 an ounce in early trading as investors reacted to comments from President Trump that he will start sending letters today setting out new levy rates for nations around the world from August 1.
Tariff Letters
“They’ll be fully covered and they’ll range in value from maybe 60 or 70% tariffs to 10 and 20% tariffs,” Trump said.
He added that about “10 or 12” letters would go out today, with additional letters coming “over the next few days.”
The 90-day pause in tariffs ends on July 9. It had been hoped that countries would have sealed a trade deal with the U.S. by then on more favorable tariff terms.
The U.K. and Vietnam have done so, but other nations or blocs like the EU have yet to come to an agreement.
“Trump is getting his box of stamps ready to send letters to countries detailing tariff rates on imports to the US. Like a student nervously opening their exam results, governments in parts of the world will be having butterflies in their stomachs once their letter arrives,” said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell. “Indications of 20% to 30% tariffs on the first batch of letters would suggest they are still high enough to cause some pain.”
Economic Fears
There is concern a growing trade war could dent the global economy, which would be a boon for haven assets like gold. That’s because they are traditionally seen as a safe haven during times of economic and societal turbulence.
Investors have also been weighing up what impact Trump’s ‘beautiful bill’ and the widening of the U.S. deficit by $3.4 trillion over the next decade will have on gold demand.
Such uncertainty this year has already helped drive gold-linked ETFs such as the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), up 27% in the year-to-date and the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) up 53%.
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