Gold continues record rally as trade war woes fuel safe-haven demand

Gold extended its record rally on Thursday as investors sought refuge in safe-haven assets amid an intensifying global trade conflict between the United States and its trading partners.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was up 0.1% at $3,346.20 an ounce as of 0008 GMT, after touching a record high of $3,357.40 per ounce earlier in the session.


* U.S. gold futures firmed 0.4% to $3,359.50.

* On Wednesday, gold prices pierced the $3,300 an ounce barrier to hit record highs.

* Marking another escalation in his dispute with trade partners, U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered a probe into potential new tariffs on all critical minerals imports on top of reviews into pharmaceutical and chip imports.

* Beijing ordered airlines to not take further deliveries of Boeing aircraft, while U.S. government limited exports of Nvidia's H20 artificial intelligence chip to China.

* Gold, traditionally seen as a hedge against political and economic uncertainty and inflation, has risen more than 27% so far this year.

* U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday the Fed would wait for more data on the economy's direction before changing interest rates, but cautioned that Trump's tariff policies risked pushing inflation and employment further from the central bank's goals.

* Traders currently see around 91 basis points worth of rate cuts by 2025-end.

* The dollar, meanwhile, slipped against its rivals to hold near a three-year low hit last week, making gold more attractive for other currency holders.

* Spot silver rose 0.1% to $32.78 an ounce, platinum gained 0.2% to $969.05 and palladium fell 0.7% to $964.75.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 1230 US Housing Starts Number Mar 1230 US Initial Jobless Clm 12 Apr, w/e 1230 US Philly Fed Business Indx Apr 1315 EU ECB Refinancing Rate, ECB Deposit Rate Apr.