Investing.com – Gold prices rose sharply on Monday as escalating U.S.-China trade war tensions stoked demand for safe-haven gold.
Gold futures for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $21.60, or 1.63%, to $1,343.00 a troy ounce.
Renewed safe-haven demand comes amid investor concerns over escalating US-China trade tensions after Beijing unveiled retaliatory tariffs on Monday overnight.
China imposed tariffs starting Monday on US food imports including pork, fruit, nuts and wine of up to 25% as a response to the Trump administration’s new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.
Investor fears over a tit-for-tat trade could intensify this week as the Trump administration will impose tariffs on $50 billion to $60 billion worth of annual imports on products benefiting from Beijing's "Made in China 2025" industrial development program, Reuters reported, citing administration officials.
Data on Friday confirmed ongoing demand for the precious metal as traders massively increased their bullish bets on gold last week.
CFTC COT data showed money managers reduced their net long positions in gold futures to 203,400 lots from 148,700 lots for the week ended March 30.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures rose 2.35% to $16.65 a troy ounce, while platinum futures added 0.45% to $936.80 an ounce.
Copper rose 0.48% to $3.04, while natural gas fell 2.01% to $2.68.