This week has brought ups and downs for the gold price as US President Donald Trump's tariff decisions continue to create widespread uncertainty across sectors globally.
The yellow metal started the week at about US$3,020 per ounce, but quickly tumbled below the US$3,000 level as markets around the world took a beating.
Although gold is known as a safe haven, it's common for it to fall in tandem with other assets during widespread downturns. The idea is that gold won't drop as hard and will recover more quickly.
Speaking just after gold's fall, Gary Wagner of TheGoldForecast.com explained that its decline shouldn't be concerning for investors. Here's how he explained it:
"One thing that is clear is that when equities came under fire ... liquidation happened across the board in multiple asset groups and classes. Gold was kind of a witness to that, and the massive liquidation that occurred was either to liquidate profitable positions to cover margin calls, or just to get more into cash than they had been in terms of the position of the portfolio. So to me it's not that unexpected, and the amount of the decline is actually fairly calm considering how much it's gone up."
Wagner's advice not to worry about gold's pullback was prescient — the precious metal was back on the move by Wednesday (April 9), and on Thursday (April 10) it notched yet another fresh all-time high.
It continued moving upward on Friday (April 11), breaking US$3,200 and setting another price record.
Gold's midweek rebound came after Trump's turnaround on tariffs — in a surprise move on Wednesday, he announced a 90 day pause on "reciprocal" tariffs for most countries.
China is an exception — Trump said he would be boosting China's rate to 125 percent after the Asian nation announced further retaliatory tariffs against the US. It's since been clarified that tariffs on China stand at 145 percent; on Friday, China said it would raise its tariffs on the US to 125 percent.
Canada and Mexico are also exceptions. Most goods from these countries are already subject to 25 percent tariffs, and these will remain in place. Blanket 25 percent tariffs on cars and car parts, as well as steel and aluminum, have also not been affected at this point.
The reversal from Trump came not long after he encouraged his followers on Truth Social to "be cool" and told them it was "a great time to buy." It also reportedly came after White House officials put increasing pressure on Trump to change course. Worries about a selloff in US government bonds raised alarm bells, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent taking these concerns to Trump.
"The bond market is very tricky, I was watching it. The bond market right now is beautiful. But yeah, I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy" — Trump
Major US indexes rebounded strongly once Trump announced his decision, and although they had given up some gains by the end of the week, they still finished the period in the green.
In terms of where that leaves gold, many experts with agree its prospects still look bright even as it trades at all-time highs. Here's what Will Rhind of GraniteShares said:
"If you look at something called the M2 ratio, which is the money supply divided by the price of gold, that is a particularly scary chart. Obviously if history is any guide, then when the ratio is high, that typically means that gold is overvalued, and when the ratio is low, that typically means that gold is undervalued.
"If you look at it right now, we're somewhat I would say below the median. In other words, we're closer to gold being undervalued rather than overvalued at a time when we just talked about gold hitting a new all-time high."
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Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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