Gold’s ‘Good Week’ Gets Better as Trade War Ignites Haven Demand
- Specter of heated trade spat has markets spooked, Kitco says
- Bullion advances as China pushes back against Trump’s tariffs
Jim Paulsen Says This Is Still a Very Vulnerable Marketplace
Gold futures posted the biggest weekly advance in almost two years, extending gains Friday and pushing up producer stocks, as mounting economic and geopolitical tensions fueled demand for the metal as a haven.
Bullion rose midweek as the Federal Reserve stuck with plans to raise rates only three times this year. It moved higher Friday as prospects of a trade fight between the U.S. and China stoked concern that global growth will slow. The ascent of John Bolton as U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser was seen adding to risks of a more muscular U.S. approach to some of the world’s hot spots, further unsettling markets.
“The specter of a heated trade war between the U.S. and China has the marketplace spooked to end the trading week,” Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc. in Montreal, said in a report. Bolton’s appointment “may also be causing some stress in the marketplace.”