Gold has been rallying as a store of value during times of crisis, logging an over 20 percent surge this year against the backdrop of the US and China squaring off on trade.
Gold prices peaked to yet another six-year high on Monday, taking a stride toward $1,600 an ounce as a fresh escalation in the US-China trade war impacted global equities, boosting demand for the traditional safe-haven assets.
Spot gold jumped 1% to $1,541.30 per ounce as of 06:19 GMT, having earlier touched $1,554.56 an ounce, its highest since April 2013.
US gold futures were up 0.9% at $1,551.80 an ounce.
“Gold was the beneficiary of President Trump’s tweetstorm on Friday”, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at VM Markets, as quoted by Reuters.
Equity markets nosedived in response, with US stocks plunging on Friday, and Asian ones following on Monday.
As gold’s rally gathers pace, investors have been pushing into bullion-backed exchange-traded funds, which have hit the highest since 2013, with data compiled for Bloomberg suggesting holdings are set for a third monthly climb.
Gold is projected to continue to soar, as investors seek havens from trade tensions and further Fed easing, claim market analysts.
Traders were reportedly tracking the G7 summit in France, where Trump indicated he may have had second thoughts on the tariffs.