Gold owners have reason to celebrate, as the precious metal’s price has risen sharply over the past week. This rally was driven by a surge of investors seeking the safe haven asset amid the enforcement of reciprocal tariffs by Donald Trump.

According to Refinitiv data on Saturday (August 9, 2025), spot gold posted a weekly gain of 1.04% to US$3,398.41 per troy ounce for the week ending August 8.

This week’s performance can be considered solid, as gold only ended in the red once—on August 6, 2025—while recording gains on the remaining four trading days.

The sharpest daily increase occurred on August 7, 2025, when spot gold prices jumped 0.85% to US$3,397.01.

Gold, known as a safe haven asset, climbed to its highest level in two weeks amid trade tensions and growing expectations of interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve (The Fed).

On Thursday’s trading session, gold reached its highest point in over two weeks, driven by rising demand after U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs took effect and U.S. labor market data strengthened expectations for a rate cut.

“Ongoing trade tensions and escalating geopolitical strains continue to support the market with strong interest in safe havens,” said Peter Grant, Vice President and Senior Metals Strategist at Zaner Metals, as quoted on Saturday (August 9, 2025).

The new higher import tariffs imposed by Trump took effect on Thursday, creating challenges for U.S. trade partners such as Switzerland, Brazil, and India in securing better trade agreements.

Meanwhile, the number of Americans filing new jobless claims surged to its highest in a month last week, indicating some loosening in the U.S. labor market.

This data reinforced expectations for The Fed to cut interest rates.

“If U.S. data continues to show weakness, we could see more dovish expectations develop, and this generally supports gold,” Grant added.

As a store of value during times of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, gold tends to perform well in a low-interest-rate environment.

According to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, weaker U.S. payroll data last week boosted speculation of a rate cut, with markets now pricing in more than a 91% chance of a 25 basis point cut in September.

Additionally, the market currently anticipates two rate cuts by the end of the year, starting in September, after unexpectedly weak June hiring data on Friday was followed by Trump’s decision to dismiss the head of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

“The market is still reeling from last week’s data-heavy environment, along with the Trump administration’s decision to replace the BLS chief,” said Daniel Ghali, Commodity Strategist at TD Securities, on Saturday (August 9, 2025).

“Both of these factors are influencing gold’s strength and certainly reinforce our view that the U.S. dollar has partially lost its role as a store of value,” Ghali added.

Gold, which serves as a safe store of value during uncertainty, also thrives in a low-interest-rate environment since it yields no interest.