Gold Prices Steady as US Reportedly Readies Hefty Tariff on Chinese Imports

Investing.com – Gold prices shrugged off a strong dollar rally to remain above the psychologically important $1,300 level as trade tensions raised demand for safe-haven gold.

for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $5.10 or 0.38%, to $1,306.20 a troy ounce.

Traders piled into safe-haven gold on expectations the United States will impose tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports on Friday, raising the prospect of retaliation from the Beijing, threatening a tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s largest two economies.

The list – that will be subject to a levy – is expected to include between 800 and 900 products, well below the original list of about 1,300 products published by the U.S. Trade Representative in April, CNBC reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. President Donald Trump reserves the final decision on whether to impose tariffs.

The United States, however, remained wary of rocking its relationship with China, as the Far-East nation has played an important role in keeping pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

The threat of a tit-for-tat trade between the world’s largest two economies comes just a day after the Federal Reserve raised its outlook on rate hikes for this year and 2019.

Some said, however, the Fed’s monetary policy decision Wednesday was mostly priced into markets, as gold prices have fallen sharply since April.

In a rising interest rate environment, investor appetite for gold weakens as the opportunity cost of holding the precious metal increases relative to other interest-bearing assets such as bonds.

Gold’s move higher was limited by a rise the dollar to two week highs following a slump in the euro after the European Central Bank said interest rates would be left unchanged until at least the summer of 2019.

In other precious metal trade, rose 1.38% to $17.23 a troy ounce, while rose 0.68% at $908.60 an ounce.

fell 1.14% to $3.22.

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