The gold prices They rose to historical maximums this Thursday, driven by the demand for refuge due to the tariff threats of the United States, while the attention also focused on a crucial inflation report to obtain clues about the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve.
Cash gold rose 1.4% to 2,796.15 dollars an ounce at 4:03 p.m., after reaching its historical maximum of 2,798.24 dollars earlier in the session. American gold futures earned 2% to $ 2,824.
“We are seeing more acute uncertainty and anxiety about the new government policies of (Donald) Trump in terms of trade and foreign policy (…) entering fresh technical purchases as prices tend to rise now both in gold and In La Plata, “said Jim Wyckoff, senior market analyst at Kitco Metals.
Earl this week, The White House confirmed that Trump plans to apply This same Saturday strong tariffs on the products of Mexico and Canada, while also consider some about China.
Meanwhile, The Fed maintained stable interest rates on Wednesday. Its president, Jerome PowellHe said he would not have hurried to cut them again.
The dollar lost 0.2%which chealed gold for holders of other currencies, while the performance of 10 -year American treasure bonds fell to their lowest level in more than a month.
The data showed that American economic growth slowed down in the fourth quarter, but the robust internal demand will probably keep the Fed in a slow path of cuts of interest rates.
Investors now expect the report of the December Personal Consumption Price Index (PCE), which will be published on Friday.
Among other precious metals, the money in cash rose 2.2%, to $ 31.48 an ounce, the platinum added 2.1%, to 965.95 dollars, and the paladium earned 2.3%, at 984.50 dollars.
In search of refuge
According to Susannah Streeter, Market Specialist at Hargreaves Lansdown, “Investors take refuge (in gold) to deal with an unpredictability storm “in recent weeks, especially due to tariff threats launched by Trump.
The US president announced his intention to impose 25% of tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico, which are theoretically protected by a free trade agreement, and 10% on Chinese products as of February 1.
The protectionist commercial policy promised by Trump means that, in theory, the dollar is more attractive, since it could boost inflation and, therefore, force the Federal Reserve to maintain their interest rates at a high level.
In fact, the monetary institution has just decided to keep its rates.
However, the dollar suffered on Thursday after a slightly lower growth in the fourth quarter, says Kathleen Brooks, an XTB analyst, interviewed by AFP.
This is a sign of a weakest American economy From the expected, which could encourage Fed to support the economy by reducing its interest rates.
The weakening of the US currency and the yields of the United States government bonds, active refuge in competition, is leading investors to opt for precious metal.
Gold is also considered a form of protection “of the fluctuations of stock markets,” explains Streeter.
These markets were agitated this week For the artificial intelligence model developed by the emerging Chinese company Deepseek, which “potentially threatens the domination of Silicon Valley”, causing the fall of US technological actions.
