Gold Hits Record High as Trump Tariff Worries Mount

FILE PHOTO: Newly casted ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold are stored after weighing at the Krastsvetmet non-ferrous metals plant, one of the world's largest producers in the precious metals industry, in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia November 22, 2018.REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Newly casted ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold are stored after weighing at the Krastsvetmet non-ferrous metals plant, one of the world's largest producers in the precious metals industry, in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia November 22, 2018.REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin/File Photo
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Gold Hits Record High as Trump Tariff Worries Mount

FILE PHOTO: Newly casted ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold are stored after weighing at the Krastsvetmet non-ferrous metals plant, one of the world's largest producers in the precious metals industry, in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia November 22, 2018.REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Newly casted ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold are stored after weighing at the Krastsvetmet non-ferrous metals plant, one of the world's largest producers in the precious metals industry, in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia November 22, 2018.REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin/File Photo

Gold prices hit a record high on Friday, set for their best month since March 2024, as investors flocked to the safe-haven metal due to heightened US tariff concerns, while awaiting a key inflation report for further direction.

Spot gold was up 0.2% at $2,798.96 per ounce, by 0749 GMT, gaining more than 6% this month. Prices hit an all-time high of $2,800.99, earlier.
US gold futures rose 0.1% to $2,826.50, Reuters reported.

Trading was thin as Chinese markets were closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump once again said that the US may impose 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports.
"Repeated tariff threats have fueled safe-haven flows into gold... any downside surprise in the inflation reading could suggest greater policy flexibility for the Federal Reserve, potentially bringing forward rate-cut expectations and providing further support for gold," IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said.
The December US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) report will be scanned for further clues on the rate trajectory. On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said inflation and jobs data would determine when easing would be appropriate.
Gold is considered a safe investment during geopolitical turmoil and thrives in a low interest rate environment.
"We reiterate that long gold remains our highest conviction trading recommendation across commodities, driven by structural (central bank buying) and cyclical (Exchange Traded Funds buying) factors," Goldman Sachs said.
Further gains could be in store for gold if tariff threats move from being a bargaining concept to an economic reality, said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, adding that prices could move north of $2,800.
Spot silver shed 0.7% to $31.46 per ounce, palladium fell 0.2% to $986.75, and platinum added 0.3% to $969.10.
Silver and platinum were poised for weekly gains.



Iraq Appoints Ali Al-Shatari as Director General of Oil Marketer SOMO

A special forces soldier waves an Iraqi flag from the top of a church damaged by ISIS forces in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq. (Reuters)
A special forces soldier waves an Iraqi flag from the top of a church damaged by ISIS forces in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq. (Reuters)
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Iraq Appoints Ali Al-Shatari as Director General of Oil Marketer SOMO

A special forces soldier waves an Iraqi flag from the top of a church damaged by ISIS forces in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq. (Reuters)
A special forces soldier waves an Iraqi flag from the top of a church damaged by ISIS forces in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq. (Reuters)

Iraq, the second-largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), appointed a new chief for national oil marketer SOMO, the company said on Thursday.

Ali al-Shatari will become the director general of the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), succeeding Khudhyer Abed, also taking over as Iraq's governor in OPEC, according to Reuters.

SOMO, which markets all Iraqi oil, is expected to begin handling oil output from Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region after the end of an almost two-year dispute with the government in Baghdad.