Investing.com - Gold prices traded higher on Friday as investors flocked to safe-haven assets while U.S. President Donald Trump announced the implementation of higher tariffs on Turkey.
At 11:32 AM ET (15:32 GMT), gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.55, or 0.13%, to $1,213.93 a troy ounce.
“I have just authorized a doubling of tariffs on steel and aluminum with respect to Turkey as their currency, the Turkish lira, slides rapidly downward against our very strong dollar!” Trump proclaimed via his Twitter account, noting that the tariff on aluminum would now be 20%, while the levy on steel would rise to 50%.
“Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!” he emphasized.
The tweet sent markets reeling as the selloff in the Turkish lira deepened, falling as much as 20% against the dollar at the intraday low.
Equities were hit, particularly in Europe, where market participants worried over banks’ exposure to Turkey.
But the risk-off sentiment spread to U.S. stocks as well, as investors opted to move to safe-haven assets such as gold.
Investors seek out gold as a store of value during times of political or economic uncertainty.
Capping gains in the precious metal was further dollar strength, with the greenback at a 14-month high against major rivals.
Inflation data painted a mixed picture as the headline consumer price index unexpectedly held steady at 2.9%, but the core reading, that excludes food and energy costs, registered a surprise acceleration to 2.4%.
The data supports the case for the Federal Reserve to move ahead with plans to raise interest rates twice more this year. Rising interest rates dampen demand for gold which is a non-yield bearing asset.
In other metals trading, silver futures rose 0.60% at $15.370 a troy ounce by 11:34 AM ET (15:34 GMT).
Palladium futures advanced 0.51% to $903.00 an ounce, while sister metal platinum slipped 0.05% at $833.70.
In base metals, copper traded down 0.20% to $2.760 a pound.