Gold rises more than 1% as Trump imposes new tariffs

Gold prices rose 1% on Friday as investors sought safe haven assets following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of new tariffs, and silver hit its highest level in more than 13 years.

Spot gold gained 1% to $3,356.93 per ounce, after hitting its highest level since June 24 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures closed up 1.4% at $3,371.20. The precious metal gained 0.58% for the week.

Global stocks fell after Trump stepped up his tariff assault on Canada, saying the United States would impose a 35% tariff on imports next month and planned to impose across-the-board tariffs of 15 or 20% on most other trading partners.

Trump also announced a 50% tariff on US copper imports and the same levy on goods from Brazil.

“We are in an environment where the uncertainty premium is back in the market and gold is receiving a safe haven offer,” said Aakash Doshi, global head of gold strategy at State Street Global Advisors.

"I think it will be between $3,100 and $3,500 in the third quarter. It's been a very strong first half of the year, and I think we're now a bit more in a consolidation phase."

Non-yielding gold tends to perform well during economic uncertainty and in a low-rate environment.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller reaffirmed the possibility of a rate cut this month on Thursday, with investors pricing in 50 basis points of rate cuts by the end of the year.

Spot silver rose 3.9% to $38.46 an ounce, its highest level since September 2011.

The premium on US silver, platinum, and palladium futures versus London benchmarks rose following Trump's announcement this week of tariffs on copper, triggering a spike in leasing rates.

Platinum gained 2.8% to $1,399.13, and palladium rose 6.5% to $1,216.12. Palladium's rally was fueled by speculation that Trump's next "major" statement on Russia would lead to sanctions against the metal, said Tai Wong, an independent metals trader.

Copper down

Copper prices fell on Friday as investors anticipated that the 50% tariff on the metal imposed on U.S. imports would erode demand, and speculators unwound their positions.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.4% to $9,664 a tonne, below the three-month high of $10,020.5 set on July 2. The contract declined around 2% for the week, its second weekly decline.