Key Takeaways
- Amid President Trump’s tariff policies, gold prices have surged to record levels.
- U.S. stocks have been highly volatile, with fluctuations driven by uncertainty surrounding Trump’s tariff announcements.
- Despite the turmoil, analysts suggest that a slowdown in the economy could lead to the Fed lowering interest rates to ensure financial stability.
As Donald Trump’s tariffs are set to be applied on what the U.S. President called ‘Liberation Day,’ a familiar asset is basking in the spotlight—gold.
With the price of gold soaring to all-time highs, the precious metal has emerged as a shining beacon of stability in a financial environment riddled with uncertainty.
While U.S. stock markets stumble and bond yields shift, gold’s rise seems to signal that investors and analysts are betting on turbulence ahead—and they’re placing their bets on bullion.
Gold Keeps on Setting New Records Ahead of Tariffs
President Trump’s tariff policies have caused significant disruption in U.S. stock markets, which recently experienced their worst quarter. However, amid this uncertainty, the price of gold has surged to all-time highs.
Gold futures reached a new record of $3,177 per ounce but later fell slightly. Despite this dip, gold has been up more than 18% since the start of the year, while the S&P 500 has been down more than 4%.
This surge in gold prices comes amid growing concerns over Trump’s tariffs, which are expected to increase consumer prices and fuel global tensions, particularly between the U.S. and its trading partners.
The trade war has also sparked fears of a potential U.S. recession. Trump will impose more tariffs on Wednesday, which he calls “Liberation Day.” These ongoing policy shifts and the uncertainty surrounding them have created a climate of anxiety among investors, and many are turning to gold as a haven.
Gold’s price increase has been gradual over the years, but it’s particularly accelerated since the beginning of 2025. Analysts, including Michael Widmer from Bank of America, expect this rally to continue, with projections suggesting gold could reach $3,500 per ounce in the next 18 months.
Widmer noted that this surge is mainly due to the uncertainty around tariffs and trade tensions, which have been the primary factors propelling gold’s rise in recent months.
Investors Sell Stocks and Crypto
U.S. stocks faced another turbulent trading day on Tuesday, with significant uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s upcoming “Liberation Day” tariff announcement on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 gained 0.4% after recovering from an early drop of 1%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped by 11 points, or less than 0.1%, after fluctuating between a 480-point loss and a 140-point gain, and the Nasdaq composite rose by 0.9%.
Asian stocks struggled on Wednesday as the world anxiously awaited details of U.S. President Donald Trump‘s tariff plans, which investors worry could escalate the global trade war.
Japan’s Nikkei decreased by 0.3%, South Korea’s index fell by 0.6%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped by 0.8%, and China’s CSI 300 Index declined by 0.1%.
Analysts Predict High Uncertainty Ahead
Michael Brown, Senior Research Strategist at Pepperstone, told CCN that market participants continue to sit at their desks with no conviction whatsoever about what will happen in the next five minutes, let alone about the short- or medium-run macro outlook.
“Initially, stocks sold off on Tuesday amid tariff uncertainty before reversing course and rallying amid tariff uncertainty,” he said.
“I just – a bit – here, but all this to-and-fro is getting incredibly tiresome, with narratives pinned on price action all over the place.
In short, noise vastly outweighs signal right now, whether on the tariff front or in terms of price action more generally.
“As such, my bias remains to play defense—fading equity upside, sheltering in havens with my long Treasury and long gold view, while also still seeing little to like about the greenback, which remains the most exposed of all assets to the ongoing incoherence from the Oval Office.”
Fed Would Help Investors
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst at Swissquote Bank, told CCN that good news for investors is that an economic slowdown is not necessarily synonymous with a market selloff, as the Fed would step in by lowering rates and buying bonds to ensure financial stability.
“Inflation – on the other hand – may be a one-off and hopefully heal itself with the economic slowdown. The problem is that the supply-side shocks tend to be inflationary – as we saw during the pandemic,” she said.
The tariffs could disrupt global supply chains and bring inflation back before giving the Fed time to reach its 2% target.
“For now, investors show an increased appetite for bonds – despite expecting a further rise in global debt levels. As such, the U.S. 10-year paper is amassing haven flows – the 10-year yield fell to as low as 4.13% yesterday from around 4.80% peak reached by mid-January.”
Similarly, the 10-year European government bond yields eased by almost 30bp since their mid-March peak.
Giuseppe Ciccomascolo began his career as an investigative journalist in Italy, where he contributed to both local and national newspapers, focusing on various financial sectors.
Upon relocating to London, he worked as an analyst for Fitch's CapitalStructure and later as a Senior Reporter for Alliance News. In 2017, Giuseppe transitioned to covering cryptocurrency-related news, producing documentaries and articles on Bitcoin and other emerging digital currencies. He also played a pivotal role in establishing the academy for a cryptocurrency exchange website. Crypto remained his primary area of interest throughout his tenure as a writer for ThirdFloor.
