Gold prices rose to an all-time high on Wednesday as trade war tensions and concerns about global economic growth drove flows into safe havens following fresh tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Spot gold was steady at $2,935.10 an ounce at 1215 GMT, after hitting an all-time high of $2,946.85 an ounce earlier in the session. Prices hit record highs for the ninth time this year. U.S. gold futures were up 0.1% at $2,953.1.
"Gold's rally appears to be driven by President Trump's comments on upcoming tariffs on autos and pharmaceuticals, which could pave the way for a push toward $3,000," said Zain Vawda, market analyst at OANDA's MarketPulse.
Since taking office, Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese imports and set a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum . In addition to the tariff agenda, the U.S. president said Tuesday that he intends to impose tariffs on automobiles "around 25%" and similar duties on imports of semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.
"I don't see central banks stopping buying gold in the near future, rather I expect them to continue to diversify their gold reserves and support the gold price," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.
Gold bullion is seen as a hedge against rising inflation and geopolitical uncertainties, but higher rates reduce the attractiveness of this non-yielding asset.
Meanwhile, market attention is also focused on the Federal Reserve's interest rate stance, with minutes from its January policy meeting due later in the day.
"Any bearish impact (on gold) from the release of today's FOMC minutes is expected to be short-lived," Vawda said.
Among other metals, spot silver, used in electrical components, added 0.1% to $32.89 an ounce, while platinum, used to make autocatalysts, fell 0.8% to $980.05 and palladium gave up 0.1% to $985.75.
"While the imposition of tariffs could hurt industrial demand for silver, it could still increase from a valuation perspective, assuming also that the positive correlation with its more illustrious cousin, the precious metal, remains intact," said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity Group.
Sarah Qureshi and Anjana Anil, Reuters