Gold rises as traders weigh tariff risks and Middle East tension

Gold rose, as the dollar slipped and traders weighed uncertainty around US import tariffs and frictions in the Middle East.

Bullion climbed as much as 1.3 percent on Wednesday, clawing back losses from a 1.6 percent decline in the previous session. A lack of clarity over US trade policy has supported the metal in recent sessions, as well as tensions over an American military buildup ahead of the next round of nuclear talks with Iran this week.

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Gold has found a footing above $5,000 an ounce, having recovered more than half of the losses sustained during a historic two-day rout at the turn of the month.

“It seems a breakout to the upside is in the making,” said Yuxuan Tang, head of macro strategy for Asia at JP Morgan Private Bank. Tariff uncertainty and Iran risk are among the factors that “may prove sufficient to catalyze a more sustained shift,” she said.

In the US, Donald Trump’s broad-based 10 percent import levy came into effect Tuesday, after a Supreme Court ruling struck down his earlier reciprocal tariff regime. While the president subsequently threatened to raise the number to 15 percent , he has not officially issued this directive.

In a move that could open the door to additional tariffs, the Trump administration is readying a spate of national security investigations into the impact of certain imports on items such as batteries and industrial chemicals. Meanwhile, some importers are seeking tariff refunds from the government.

“It’s going to have dramatic implications for the US budget deficit, the US dollar and Treasuries,” said David Wilson, director of commodities strategy at BNP Paribas SA, referring to the potential refunds.

Concerns about mounting sovereign debt have been a factor in the so-called debasement trade, whereby investors have moved away from bonds and currencies in favor of hard assets like gold. This was a major driver of gold’s multiyear bull run prior to the abrupt pullback at the end of January.

Meanwhile, the prospect of a near-term hold on US interest rates may present headwinds for gold, which doesn’t pay interest. Rates are likely to stay unchanged “for some time” as recent economic data shows an improvement in the American labor market, Fed Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said on Tuesday.

Minutes from the Fed’s January policy meeting, published earlier this month, showed officials at the US central bank appeared to be wary of cutting borrowing costs.

Gold rose 0.8 percent to $5,187.23 an ounce as of 3:38 p.m. in Singapore. Silver climbed 3.8 percent to $90.47. Platinum advanced 4.8 percent and palladium was up 0.9 percent. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the US currency, fell 0.2 percent .

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