REUTERS

Gold rose to a three-week high on Monday, boosted by safe-haven demand after US President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on the European Union and Mexico, while silver hit a near 14-year peak.

Spot gold was up 0.4 percent at $3,367.51 per ounce, as of 0957 GMT, after hitting its highest level since June 23 earlier in the session.

US gold futures rose 0.5 percent to $3,379.30.

Trump said on Saturday he would impose a 30 percent tariff on most imports from the EU and Mexico from August 1, adding to similar warnings for other countries.

Both the European Union and Mexico described the tariffs as unfair and disruptive, while the EU said it would extend its suspension of countermeasures to US tariffs until early August and continue to press for a negotiated settlement.

“Trump tariffs threats are supporting demand for safe haven assets, and gold is a main beneficiary of that,” said UBS commodity analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

On the data front, traders await US consumer price index data and the producer price index this week for cues on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path.

Investors are currently anticipating 50 basis points worth of Fed rate cuts by the end of this year, starting in October. Gold tends to thrive in a low-rate environment.