Gold prices soar to record high on latest Trump tariffs

International gold prices surged to a new intraday record during European trading hours on Monday, surpassing 2,900 dollars per ounce, driven by safe-haven demand amid escalating trade tensions.

As of 21:00 GMT Monday, April gold futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange were trading at 2,934.4 dollars per ounce, marking a 1.62-percent increase, while June gold futures climbed even higher, surpassing 2,960 dollars per ounce.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed proclamations to raise tariffs on aluminum from 10 percent to 25 percent and to end duty-free quotas, exemptions and exclusions for steel and aluminum tariffs. Gold prices jumped following Trump's announcement of reciprocal tariffs, which could further fuel inflationary pressures.

Several Wall Street investment banks have responded by revising their gold price forecasts upward. Citibank, for example, expects gold prices to reach 3,000 dollars per ounce within the next three months, and has raised its average gold price target for the year to 2,900 dollars per ounce.

In addition, Citibank also suggested that the strengthening U.S. dollar is incentivizing central banks worldwide to increase their gold reserves to support their national currencies amid global economic volatility.

China's outstanding aggregate social financing -- the total amount of financing to the real economy -- reached 442.12 trillion yuan (about 63.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2025, up 8.3 percent year on year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country's aggregate social financing stood at 35.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.34 trillion yuan (about 479 billion U.S. dollars) from the year 2024, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

According to the data, the M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 8.5 percent year on year to 340.29 trillion yuan (about 48.8 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of December.

In addition, outstanding yuan loans stood at 271.91 trillion yuan (about 39 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2025, up 6.4 percent year on year.