April 17 (Reuters) – Gold eased on Thursday as investors booked profits after bullion hit an all-time high earlier, with U.S. restrictions on chip sales to China and continued tariff uncertainty boosting bullion’s safe-haven demand.
Spot gold shed 0.1% to $3,338.81 an ounce, as of 0436 GMT, after touching a record high of $3,357.40 earlier in the session. Bullion has gained more than 3% so far this week.
U.S. gold futures firmed 0.1% to $3,351.
“Everything is going gold’s way, propelling prices to fresh highs. Although pullbacks are reasonable, the precious metal is poised for further gains as trade bedlam continues,” said Nikos Tzabouras, a senior market analyst at Tradu.com.
Marking another escalation in his dispute with trade partners, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a probe into potential new tariffs on all critical minerals imports on Tuesday, on top of reviews into pharmaceutical and chip imports.
Beijing ordered airlines to not take further deliveries of Boeing aircraft.
“Sino-Western tensions show no signs of easing … and the dollar has become a casualty of Trump’s trade policies, with its role as a safe haven now questioned further, strengthening gold’s appeal,” Tzabouras said.
The dollar index hovered near a three-year low hit last week, making gold more attractive for other currency holders.
“The volatility in both the equity and bond markets could also push investors to increase the weighting of gold within their portfolio,” Global X analyst Trevor Yates said.
Gold, traditionally seen as a hedge against political and economic uncertainty and inflation, has risen more than 27% so far this year.
“We maintain our bullish stance on gold, though a pull-back towards $3,050 per ounce looks possible after a recent swift price rally,” analysts at ANZ said.
Spot silver dropped 0.6% to $32.54 an ounce, platinum shed 0.4% to $963.15, and palladium fell 1.4% to $958.24.
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