Gold price (XAU/USD) builds on the previous day's breakout momentum beyond the $3,100 mark and gains positive traction for the fourth successive day on Tuesday. The momentum lifts the commodity to a fresh all-time peak, around the $3,144-3,145 area during the Asian session, and is sponsored by the global flight to safety. Investors remain worried about the potential economic fallout from US President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policies. Adding to this, geopolitical tensions turn out to be key factors that continue to boost demand for the traditional safe-haven bullion.
Meanwhile, investors now seem convinced that a tariff-driven slowdown in US economic growth will outweigh a temporary lift in inflation and prompt the Federal Reserve (Fed) to resume its rate-cutting cycle soon. This keeps the US Dollar (USD) bulls on the defensive and lends additional support to the non-yielding Gold price. The XAU/USD bulls seem rather unaffected by an improvement in the global risk sentiment. However, overbought conditions warrant some caution before placing fresh bullish bets around the XAU/USD pair and positioning for any further appreciating move.
From a technical perspective, the daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands well above the 70 mark and indicates overbought conditions. This, in turn, makes it prudent to wait for some near-term consolidation or a modest pullback before traders start positioning for any further appreciating move. Nevertheless, the overnight breakout above the $3,100 mark and the subsequent move up suggest that the path of least resistance for the Gold price remains to the upside. Hence, any corrective pullback could be seen as a buying opportunity and is more likely to remain limited.
In the meantime, the $3,128-3,127 region could act as immediate support ahead of the $3,100 round figure. A convincing break below the latter might prompt some long-unwinding and drag the Gold price below the $3,076 area, or the overnight swing low, towards the $3,057-3,058 resistance breakpoint en route to the $3,036-3,035 support zone. This is followed by the $3,000 psychological mark, which should act as a strong base for the XAU/USD and key pivotal point for short-term traders.
Tariffs are customs duties levied on certain merchandise imports or a category of products. Tariffs are designed to help local producers and manufacturers be more competitive in the market by providing a price advantage over similar goods that can be imported. Tariffs are widely used as tools of protectionism, along with trade barriers and import quotas.
Although tariffs and taxes both generate government revenue to fund public goods and services, they have several distinctions. Tariffs are prepaid at the port of entry, while taxes are paid at the time of purchase. Taxes are imposed on individual taxpayers and businesses, while tariffs are paid by importers.
There are two schools of thought among economists regarding the usage of tariffs. While some argue that tariffs are necessary to protect domestic industries and address trade imbalances, others see them as a harmful tool that could potentially drive prices higher over the long term and lead to a damaging trade war by encouraging tit-for-tat tariffs.
During the run-up to the presidential election in November 2024, Donald Trump made it clear that he intends to use tariffs to support the US economy and American producers. In 2024, Mexico, China and Canada accounted for 42% of total US imports. In this period, Mexico stood out as the top exporter with $466.6 billion, according to the US Census Bureau. Hence, Trump wants to focus on these three nations when imposing tariffs. He also plans to use the revenue generated through tariffs to lower personal income taxes.