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Gold set for sixth straight weekly gain
Gold prices rose on Friday, heading for a sixth straight weekly gain after escalating trade tensions between the United States and China prompted investors to seek safe havens, amid U.S. data that added to concerns about a resurgent inflation.
As fears of a trade war boosted safe-haven demand, spot gold rose 0.6% to $2,873.63 an ounce, up more than 2% since the start of the week. It hit an all-time high of $2,882.16 on Wednesday.
“The main focus in the gold market remains the uncertainty surrounding Trump’s tariff policies,” said David Meagher, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump sparked a trade war after he followed through on his threat to impose tariffs on China, but gave Mexico and Canada a one-month reprieve.
Gold is used as a safe-haven investment in times of political and financial uncertainty, and the yellow metal rose to a high of $2,882.16 on Wednesday amid trade war concerns.
Elsewhere, a report from the Labor Department showed the U.S. economy added 143,000 jobs in January, compared with the 170,000 jobs economists had forecast, and the unemployment rate was 4%, compared with a forecast of 4.1%.
In China, the financial regulator said it would allow some of its insurance funds to buy gold for medium- and long-term asset allocations as part of a pilot project.
Among other precious metals, spot silver rose 0.7% to $32.41 an ounce, platinum rose 0.7% to $992.15 and palladium fell 0.8% to $970.50.
Both silver and platinum are set to post gains this week, while palladium fell 3.7% on the week.
