Noor Trends News, Technical Analysis, Educational Tools and Recommendations
Gold prices surged to unprecedented levels in Asian trading on Monday, climbing toward the $4,700 an ounce mark as investors rushed into safe-haven assets after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs on several European nations over his push to acquire Greenland.
Spot gold jumped 1.6% to $4,667.33 an ounce by 02:26 ET (07:26 GMT), after touching a new all-time high of $4,690.75 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures followed suit, hitting a peak of $4,697.71 an ounce.
The rally extended last week’s strong momentum in bullion, which has been underpinned by a mix of geopolitical uncertainty and shifting expectations for U.S. monetary policy.
Trump said over the weekend that Washington would impose a 10% tariff on goods from eight European countries that have opposed his plan for the United States to acquire Greenland. The levy is set to take effect on February 1 and would rise to 25% in June if no agreement is reached. The targeted nations include France, Germany and the United Kingdom, alongside several Nordic and northern European states.
The announcement drew sharp criticism from European officials and raised fears of a wider transatlantic trade dispute, prompting investors to seek shelter in precious metals. The tariff threat added to an already supportive environment for gold, which has benefited in recent weeks from softer U.S. economic data and signs of easing inflation.
These trends have strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates later this year. Lower borrowing costs tend to boost the appeal of non-yielding assets such as gold by reducing the opportunity cost of holding them.
The surge in bullion spilled over into other precious metals. Silver prices advanced more than 4% to a new record high of $94.03 an ounce, supported by both safe-haven demand and its role as an industrial metal. Platinum also climbed over 1% to $2,358.69 an ounce, reflecting growing investor appetite for physical assets.
Industrial metals joined the rally, with copper prices rising after data showed China’s economy met Beijing’s 5% growth target for 2025. Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange gained 0.6% to $12,881 a ton. Stronger-than-expected growth in the December quarter bolstered hopes that demand from the world’s largest copper consumer will remain resilient.
While Chinese data highlighted that exports continued to drive growth and domestic demand remained subdued, the uneven recovery also fueled expectations of further stimulus from Beijing. The People’s Bank of China is set to announce a key lending rate decision on Tuesday, adding another potential catalyst for metals markets.
