FX.co ★ Gold Climbs Back Above $4,000 on US-China Trade Tensions

Spot gold soared beyond the $4,000 threshold on Friday, nearing its record high of $4,059 achieved on Wednesday. This surge was spurred by escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing after U.S. President Trump expressed doubts about meeting with China’s Xi Jinping in South Korea as initially planned, while also preparing to impose higher tariffs on Chinese imports. Concurrently, Israel’s government ratified a ceasefire agreement with Hamas on Friday, paving the way to end hostilities in Gaza within a day. Gold has experienced an approximately 52% increase this year and is projected to secure a 3% weekly gain—marking its eighth consecutive advance—driven by persistent geopolitical uncertainties, global economic concerns, and heightened expectations of further U.S. interest rate cuts. Additional factors supporting gold include sluggish global growth, enduring inflation, and continued diversification away from U.S. assets and the dollar. In terms of monetary policy, the Federal Reserve is broadly anticipated to implement 25 basis point rate cuts at each of its remaining meetings this year.