Gold prices jump after US said to add surprise gold bar tariffs in blow to Switzerland
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Futures for bullion in New York jumped to a record high after the US reportedly put tariffs on imports of 1kg gold bars.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
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Shanghai – The US has put tariffs on imports of 1kg gold bars, according to the Financial Times, threatening more turmoil in the global bullion market and dealing another trade blow to Switzerland.
US gold futures hit a record high after the FT report. Spot gold edged up 0.1 per cent to US$3,400 an ounce, while gold futures rose as much as 2.3 per cent to an all-time peak of US$3,477.
Contracts for December delivery in New York jumped to a premium of more than US$100 an ounce above the global benchmark for spot prices in London.
The tariff move, which the FT said was detailed in a July 31 ruling from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, is the latest surprise from US President Donald Trump’s campaign to reshape global trade.
Bullion traders had expected gold bars of 1kg or 100 ounces to be exempt from Mr Trump’s other tariffs, including the shock 39 per cent country rate he put on the gold refining hub of Switzerland.
But the CBP decision instead placed those items under Customs codes that are subject to duties, according to the FT, which cited a letter that laid out the ruling.
Bloomberg has not seen the letter and could not immediately confirm the details. Traders and analysts are scrambling to understand the implications of the move – whether the tariffs are already in force and if they apply to all countries.
“Gold is moved back and forth between central banks and reserves around the world,” said Mr Robert Gottlieb, a former precious metals trader and managing director at JPMorgan Chase, referring to the bars.
“We never ever thought that it would be hit by a tariff.”
The Trump administration has delivered many shocks as it builds a complex patchwork of different US import tariffs launched for varying reasons at different rates. In July, US copper futures crashed after the White House exempted the main product.
One-kilogram gold bars are the most common form traded on Comex, the world’s largest gold futures market, and comprise the bulk of Switzerland’s bullion exports to the US, the FT said.
The European gold hub is already reeling after Mr Trump gave it the highest country tariff among developed nations.
The news drove a spike in the premium for gold futures in New York over the spot price in London as markets opened in Asia on Aug 8. Contracts for December delivery jumped to a premium of more than US$100 an ounce above the global benchmark for spot prices in London. Futures for bullion in New York also jumped to a record high. BLOOMBERG
