Investing.com – Gold prices rallied to a more than one-month high on strong safe-haven demand amid escalating U.S.-China tensions as the prospect of a trade war heats up.
Gold futures for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $21.50, or 1.59%, to $1,348.50 a troy ounce. Gold is set to notch its biggest weekly win in more than one month.
A tit-for-tat trade war between China and U.S. – the world’s largest two economies – appeared to be fast becoming a reality as China unveiled plans to hit back at the U.S.’s decision Thursday to impose tariffs on up to $60 billion worth of Chinese imports.
China's commerce ministry proposed a list of 128 U.S. goods as potential retaliation targets, according to statement on their website.
The U.S. goods, which had an import value of $3 billion in 2017, include wine, fresh fruit, dried fruit and nuts, steel pipes, modified ethanol, and ginseng, the ministry said. Those products could see a 15% duty, while a 25% tariff could be imposed on U.S. pork and recycled aluminium goods, according to the statement.
Also helping gold prices was a slump in the dollar to five-week lows as investors fear a trade war could negatively impact the U.S. economy.
Dollar-denominated assets such as gold are sensitive to moves in the dollar – A fall in the dollar makes gold cheaper for holders of foreign currency and thus, increases demand for the precious metal.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures rose 1.18% to $22.40 a troy ounce, while platinum futures gained 0.23% to $951.30 an ounce.
Copper 0.96% to $2.995, while natural gas fell 0.80% to $2.996.