Gold prices surge as US officially imposes tariffs on China

Gold prices increased by 1% on Wednesday after the USD weakened due to US President Donald Trump's official impose tax on Chinese goods. This has caused investors to rush to buy gold as a safe haven, in the context of global trade tensions and growing concerns about recession.

Spot gold rose 0.9% to $3,010.39 an ounce at 5:00 a.m. GMT, after rising as much as 1% at times during the session. US gold futures rose 1.2%, to $3,026.90 an ounce.

At the time of writing (14:52 on April 9, 2025 - Vietnam time), the world gold price listed on Kitco was at 3,046.8 USD/ounce.

Donald Trump has raised import tariffs on Chinese goods to 104%, in response to China's retaliatory tariffs. He also accused Beijing of manipulating the yuan to offset the impact of taxes. China did not make any moves and called the move a "threat", stating it would "fight to the end".

The new tax rate specifically applied to each country takes effect from 12:01 am Eastern time (ie 4:01 GMT), as planned.

The decline in the US dollar due to tariff concerns has created conditions for gold prices to return to the $3,000/ounce mark. Due to the global economy and much uncertainty over inflation, gold is still on track to set a new record high, despite a few recent slowdowns, said Tim Waterer, market analyst at KCM Trade.

However, gold's gains have been somewhat limited by the increase in US 10-year government bond yields to a more than one-month high.

Gold once set a historical peak of $3,167.57/ounce on April 3. The approach of gold prices to this region has many people reminded them of the time when the political and economic crisis pushed gold prices to a record high in 1980, when the Iranian Islamic Revolution occurred.

According to the World Gold Council, in the first quarter of 2025, gold ETFs recorded the largest net purchase in the past 3 years.

The market is now waiting for the minutes of the latest policy meeting of the US Federal Reserve (FED), scheduled to be released on the same day, along with the US consumer price index report on Thursday.

The Fed is likely to remain cautious, continuing to monitor the risk of inflation returning rather than the risk of slowing growth, said Kelvin Wong, market analyst for the Asia-Pacific region of OANDA.

Meanwhile, spot silver remained stable at 29.84 USD/ounce; platinum decreased by 0.2% to 919.1 USD/ounce; palladium increased by 0.2% to 908.81 USD/ounce.

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