(Bloomberg) -- Gold extended gains for the biggest intraday jump in five years as global markets gyrated and bonds sold off after US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping new import tariffs and China and Europe hit back with levies of their own.
Spot gold rose as much as 3.8% to as high as $3.095.13 an ounce Wednesday, the biggest intraday increase since March 2020.
An exodus from longer-dated US government bonds — typically a safe haven in times of turmoil — underscored a jittery day for investors as Trump’s historic trade measures came into effect. Bullion extended recent declines before swinging higher by as much as 3.4%, the biggest intraday jump since October 2023.
The selloff in Treasuries sent long-term yields soaring worldwide, threatening to deliver another hit to the US economy. Rising yields would normally weigh on bullion given its inverted relationship with inflation-adjusted rates.
“Gold is currently the ultimate safe haven as worries about US fiscal stability continues to rise,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank AS.
Trump placed higher duties on roughly 60 trading partners, with China facing a punitive tariff of 104% on its goods. In response, China said it will impose an 84% tariff on US goods from Thursday while Europe approved tariffs to hit around €21 billion ($23.2 billion) of US goods.
Tensions have spiraled between Washington and Beijing since Trump returned to the White House in January. The US president has yet to speak with his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, more than two months after his inauguration.
Gold has enjoyed a powerful run this year — including a record high last week — but had been caught up in the global selloff over the past few days as the scale of Trump’s trade shake-up was revealed. Even though bullion is a traditional haven, extreme market disruptions can prompt investors to sell the asset to cover losses elsewhere.
Gold for immediate delivery was up 3.2% at $3,078.64 an ounce as of 10:35 a.m. in New York. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.6%. Silver, platinum and palladium rose.
--With assistance from Jason Scott, Mark Burton and Yihui Xie.
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