Gold prices rise as Trump says US to send tariff rate letters on Friday

Gold prices edged higher on Friday morning, as renewed concerns about US president Donald Trump's trade tariffs spurred demand for the precious metal as a safe-haven asset.

Gold futures (GC=F) were up 0.2% at $3,347.80 an ounce at the time of writing, while the spot gold price climbed 0.4% to $3,338.89 per ounce.

The latest rise in gold prices came after Trump said he was going to start sending letters to countries on Friday to tell them what their tariff rates would be, adding that they would have to start paying the duties on 1 August.

Trump told reporters on Thursday that by his 9 July tariff deal extension deadline “they’ll be fully covered and they’ll range in value from maybe 60 or 70% tariffs to 10 and 20% tariffs”.

The top end of that tariff range would be higher than the rates Trump initially announced on so-called “Liberation Day” on 2 April.

Jim Reid, market strategist at Deutsche Bank (DBK.DE), said that the “difference in that range would have significant economic implications for the various countries”.

European stock markets opened lower following the news, while Wall Street was closed on Friday for the 4 July holiday.

Investors were also weighing the impact of Trump's “big, beautiful bill” in adding to US debt, with the president due to sign it into law on Friday, after the House of Representatives passed the legislation on Thursday.

Reid said: “Note that the $5tn ($3.7tn) debt ceiling increase included in the bill, probably takes that off the table for around 2.5 years given the current run rate of deficits.

“Without the increase we’d probably have run up against the existing debt ceiling around mid-August. So one less thing to worry about in the near term, even if the bigger picture on debt just got more worrying.”

Oil prices fell on Friday morning, after Iran said it remained committed to nuclear non-proliferation.

Brent crude (BZ=F) futures fell 0.4% to $68.55 per barrel, at the time of writing, while West Texas Intermediate futures (CL=F) dipped 0.2% to $66.84 a barrel.

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X on Thursday that Iran “remains committed to the NPT and its Safeguards Agreement”, referring to the international non-proliferation treaty.

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This eased concerns of another re-escalation of conflict in the Middle East and potential disruption to oil supply.

Oil prices were also lower ahead of the latest meeting of Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, due to take place this weekend. This group of major oil producing countries are widely expected to agree on a production increase of 411,000 barrels per day.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The price of oil hasn’t shifted much, as traders await the outcome of the OPEC+ meeting on potential production increases.”

The pound was little changed against the dollar (GBPUSD=X) on Friday morning, trading at $1.3663, as concerns about the UK's financial situation subsided but tariff fears weighed on investor sentiment.

The yields on UK government bonds, known as gilts, surged – meaning the cost of government borrowing rose – after chancellor Rachel Reeve's tearful appearance in the House of Commons on Wednesday, as prime minister Keir Starmer avoided explicitly endorsing her when pressed during prime minister’s questions.

However, the PM later assured that Reeves would remain chancellor “into the next election”.

Hargreaves Lansdown's Streeter said: “With the government intent on projecting an image of unity, it’s helped stabilise the bond markets. Ten-year gilt yields, assessed to judge UK government borrowing costs, have returned to levels they were at before Rachel Reeves’ distressed appearance in parliament and sterling has continued to claw back ground.”

“However, there is speculation that given the difficulties the government has faced in finding savings from welfare budgets, tax rises are likely in the autumn budget,” she added. “Bets are rising that the Bank of England will cut interest rates more quickly with a reduction in August increasingly on the cards. So, that’s kept a bit more downwards pressure on sterling.”

In other currency moves, the pound was muted against the euro (GBPEUR=X), trading at €1.1607 at the time of writing.

More broadly, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) fell 0.3% on Friday morning to 8,794 points. For more details, on broader market movements check our live coverage here.

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