Gold prices traded higher on Thursday, hitting a fresh record high of US$3,168 per ounce in the early Asian session as escalating trade war risks and fears of a recession continued to bolster demand for safe-haven assets.
By 3:25 pm AEDT (4:25 am GMT), spot gold was up $14.58, or 0.5%, at $3,149.02 per ounce.
Risk sentiment remained fragile in Asian markets, reflecting investor concerns over retaliation from major United States trading partners, including China and the European Union (EU).
Market uncertainty deepened after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 10% baseline tariff on most imports, alongside significantly higher duties on specific countries.
Trade tensions and their potential impact on inflation and economic growth have weighed on the U.S. dollar and Treasury bond yields, further reinforcing gold's appeal as a hedge against market uncertainty.
On Wednesday, data from Automatic Data Processing (ADP) showed that the U.S. private sector added 155,000 jobs in March, exceeding forecasts of 105,000 and sharply higher than February’s upwardly revised 84,000.
Investors are now turning their attention to weekly U.S. jobless claims and the ISM Services PMI data ahead of the U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report on Friday (Saturday AEDT), which could provide more clarity on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook, particularly given the increasing risks of an economic downturn.
