Gold hits new all-time high

Gold prices hit a new all-time high of $3,300 an ounce on foreign markets yesterday as investors sought safe havens after US President Donald Trump called for an investigation that could fuel a global trade war, Bloomberg and Reuters reported.

At around 11:07 GMT, spot gold prices were up 2.2% at $3,299.85 an ounce, after previously hitting a record high of $3,317.90 an ounce. The price of the yellow metal crossed the $3,300 an ounce mark for the first time, surpassing the previous record set on Monday. Futures rose 2.6% on the US market at 08:01 local time, reaching $3,324/ounce.

"Trump's trade war shows no signs of easing, triggering a new move towards safe-haven assets and away from stocks," Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank, told Reuters.

The Trump administration has called for an inquiry to examine the need for tariffs on all imports of rare earth minerals into the United States. The inquiry comes after China earlier this month imposed restrictions on rare earth exports in response to Trump's new tariffs.

Gold prices have risen nearly 26% this year, buoyed by tariff disputes, strong central bank purchases, expectations of interest rate cuts and bullion-backed exchange-traded funds. In this context, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) yesterday revised its forecast for the price of gold, anticipating a level of $ 3,600 per ounce by the end of the year, and $ 3,500 in six months.

"The advance is a little bit disoriented, leaving room for corrections," Hansen said, noting: "However, for more than a year, we have seen that the corrections are superficial."

According to Reuters, gold's Relative Resistance Index (RSI) is above 70, indicating that the precious metal is "overbought."

Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at brokerage firm ActivTrades, says: "The fundamentals are too strong and I don't really see a scenario that is different from the general risk tilted to the upside."

And Evy Hambro, an analyst at Blackrock Inc., said, quoted by Bloomberg: "I would like to have a pound for every time someone said gold had hit a record high in recent weeks. The gold market is booming in this period of uncertainty."

Major banks are expecting gold prices to rise in the coming quarters. Analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimate the price will reach $4,000 an ounce by mid-2026.

"The power struggle between major powers will continue. Gold's appeal as a safe-haven asset makes an appreciation more likely than a depreciation in the short to medium term," said Luchen Wang, an analyst at Galaxy Futures Co.

Markets expect the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates at least three times this year, which will support gold prices.

This month, Juerg Kiener, chief investment officer and managing director at Swiss Asia Capital, predicted that the price of gold could rise to $5,000-$8,000 per ounce in the next few years. He highlighted the sustained momentum in the price, driven by global financial changes and strong demand from central banks, saying, as quoted by cnbctv18.com: "The upward trend will continue and accelerate. The price of gold has already risen 30% from the recent lows, showing resilience amid economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions."

Juerg Kiener is optimistic about the long-term prospects for the yellow metal's price, considering it a refuge against inflation, currency volatility and instability.

This year's advance in gold prices comes after a rise of more than 27% in 2024.