XAU/USD: Gold Reclaims $3,000 as Tariff Shootout Intensifies—China Vows to “Fight to the End”

Gold played to its safe-haven characteristics on Tuesday as trade war prospects got way more real after China responded to Trump.

💸 Gold Regains $3,000 Mark

• Gold prices XAUUSD shot up nearly 1% on Tuesday as traders took a defensive stance and rushed to snap up the yellow metal. The initiative buoyed the price from a Monday low of $2,956 to a Tuesday session high of $3,005 per ounce. What’s behind that? Heightened chances of global trade wars.
• The tariff shootout between the US and China entered a new stage when Trump on Monday said he will impose additional 50% tariffs on China as soon as Wednesday if it didn’t pare back its retaliatory 34% tariff introduced last Friday. Trump’s tariffs have roiled markets.

💪 Tariff Wars Escalate

• The response from Beijing didn’t take long to arrive. This morning, the Chinese Commerce ministry said it would escalate its retaliation measures if Trump goes ahead with the extra 50% duties on Chinese imports. If that takes effect, some goods will be charged an extra 120% on the US border.
• “If the US proceeds with implementing these escalated tariff measures, China will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests,” a spokesperson said on Tuesday. “If the US insists on going its own way, China will fight to the end.”

🧈 Gold Shines Bright

• Prior to today’s tariff-fueled jump, gold was shoved to a four-week low as these same tariff jitters had shown some signs of cooling. But not anymore — the new developments threaten to rewrite the rules for global trade and, what’s scarier, end globalization as we know it.
• Gold scaled to an all-time high of $3,167 on April 3, a day after Trump unveiled the big list of tariffs with just about every country and region getting slapped with a tariff.