The gold price reached yet another record high on Friday (March 13), breaking US$3,000 per ounce.
The precious metal has gained significant momentum since the beginning of the year. In early morning trading on Friday, it briefly surged to US$3,004 per ounce before falling back to US$2,989.
Friday’s rise comes amid heightening trade tensions between the US and its European partners. On Thursday (March 13), President Donald Trump threatened to impose significant tariffs on key European products, including wine.
Gold price chart, March 7 to March 14, 2025
The threats come during a week of flared tempers, which saw Ontario Premier Doug Ford impose a 25 percent surcharge on electricity exports to the US on Tuesday (March 11). Although the charges were withdrawn after the two sides agreed to meet in Washington on Thursday, there is still much uncertainty about Canada-US relations, as well as US relations globally.
Broad 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to the US went into effect on Wednesday. Canada quickly applied retaliatory tariffs on US$20 billion worth of goods, while the EU responded with tariffs on US$28 billion worth of goods. Trump had threatened to boost the tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50 percent, but backed down for now after Ford withdrew the 25 percent electricity surcharge.
Trump has also said he will impose further tariffs on auto imports by April 2, creating significant uncertainty for manufacturers and businesses that rely on cross-border trade.
Additional tailwinds to gold’s momentum this week came from the release of US consumer and producer price index data released on Wednesday (March 12) and Thursday, which show that inflation has become stuck. This adds more fuel to recession speculation and buoys gold.
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.