The decline in the dollar and the escalation of the trade war between the US and China have led investors to seek safe havens, pushing gold prices to a record high. Gold, one of the “safe haven” assets, continues to break records due to increased uncertainty, geopolitical risks, concerns over economic slowdown, and uncertainties about the possible outcomes of the US’s aggressive tariff policy. Today, the price of gold per ounce reached a record high of $3,174.74, with a 2.8% increase. Gold’s ounce price had also risen by about 3% yesterday. Currently, gold is one of the few commodities unaffected by tariffs. The ounce price has increased by over 36% in the past 12 months and by over 20% this year. The message from China that they will “respond to the trade war with the US to the end” in addition to the uncertainty regarding President Donald Trump’s tariff policy has influenced the rise in the price of gold per ounce. On April 2, Trump’s announcement of a tariff package had raised concerns about the possibility of a widespread trade war that could lead to global economic slowdown. Trump’s announcement yesterday of a 90-day halt to imposing high tariffs on some countries had boosted global exchanges and had not slowed down the rise in gold.
US-China Tariff Escalation: On April 2, President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs on trade partners, including China, under the “mutual tariffs” framework. In response, China raised tariffs on imported products from the US by 84%, and Trump announced an increase to 125%. Following Trump’s announcement, China indicated that it would not back down in the escalating tension. Meanwhile, the White House clarified that the 125% tariff announced yesterday by President Trump for China only applies to mutual tariffs, with the total tariff rate reaching 145% when including those imposed due to the fentanyl crisis. The dollar index, which measures the value of the US dollar against the euro, Swiss franc, Japanese yen, Canadian dollar, British pound, and Swedish krona, fell by up to 1.80% to 101.08.