Gold Falls from Record Highs on Tariff Jitters, Traders Await White House Decision
Monday, 8/11/2025 16:08
GOLD BULLION PRICES dropped more than 1% on Monday as traders awaited clarification from the White House on the US position regarding tariffs on gold bars. This followed a Trump administration ruling on Friday that one-kilogram and 100-ounce gold bars are subject to levies, propelling gold futures contracts to record highs,
writes Atsuko Whitehouse at BullionVault.
“The White House intends to issue an executive order in the near future clarifying misinformation about the tariffing of gold bars and other speciality products,” a White House official said later on Friday. This comment came after the US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) — which had privately informed a Swiss refiner in a letter dated 31st July — made its decision public for the first time as reported by the
Financial Times.
US gold futures on New York’s Comex exchange fell as much as 2.4% to $3408 per ounce on Monday, after surging to an
all-time high of $3514 per ounce in the last session. Spot gold also dropped as much as 1.3% to $3353 per ounce by lunchtime in London, $55 below than last Thursday’s two-week high.
That drop pushed New York premiums — the margin over physical bullion quotes in London — back down to a normalized level of $55, after exceeding $100 last Friday.
In April, the Trump administration exempted precious metals from import duties on ‘Liberation Day’, pushing
the gold spot price down $100 and collapsing the gap between New York Comex futures and London bullion. This gap, widened by expectations of possible trade duties on bars and ingots, had previously drawn a record quantity of precious metal into the USA.
Gold stockpiles in US warehouses approved for Comex delivery have fallen about 14% from their peak in April, yet over 70% of the year’s opening inventory remains in storage.
The Swiss Precious Metals Association warned on Friday that the tariff ruling would “
negatively impact” the flow of physical gold around the world. Switzerland, a refining hub that accounts for nearly 70% of global capacity, now faces a
“crippling” 39% charge. According to Bloomberg analysis, this was due to Washington’s mistaken inclusion of precious metals shipments in its trade calculations.
The London Bullion Market Association, the industry’s trade body, said on Friday evening that it was “
seeking clarification” from US authorities.
“Until then, gold trade between Switzerland and the US is likely to be frozen,” said Daniel Hynes, Senior Commodity Strategist at ANZ.
Traders are also awaiting confirmation on whether the 12th August deadline for talks on US duties on Chinese imports will be extended, while Trump has called on China, via a social media post, to quadruple its imports of American soybeans to reduce its trade surplus with the US.
The 90-day truce in the US–China trade war — involving the suspension of US tariffs of 145% on Chinese imports and Beijing’s tariffs of 125% on US imports — is set to expire on Tuesday.
Gold prices in Shanghai — the entry point for bullion into private circulation in China, the world’s No.1 mining, importing, consuming, and central-bank buying nation — fell 1% to a one-week low of ¥776 per gram. In US Dollar terms, this was $11.99 per ounce below London bullion quotes, the largest discount since early February, when gold prices hit a series of all-time highs, dampening demand from the metal’s famously price-sensitive consumers. The move marks a reversal from last week, when the weekly average was $4.35 above London quotes.
Gold priced in the UK Pounds and Euros fell 1.2% on Monday to six-session lows of £2497 and €2884 per ounce, respectively, as UK and European stocks edged higher. This followed healthy gains in European and the US benchmarks last week, on optimism that US President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this Friday could bring the war in Ukraine closer to resolution.
Oil extended its biggest weekly decline since late June, amid rising prospects of an end to the war in Ukraine and increased oil supply.
Prices for silver — primarily an industrial metal, with nearly 60% of its annual demand coming from industrial uses — fell 1.9% to $37.68 per ounce, halving last week’s gain.
Copper prices fell 0.8% on Monday, extending losses after President Trump’s late‑July reversal exempted the metal from US import tariffs. The sudden policy shift sent US copper futures
plunging by more than one-fifth at the end of July.
“If gold is insurance against government or central bank policy mistakes, then there may well be potential for more upside,” said German refining group Heraeus.
“However, for the time being, the gold price is continuing in its holding pattern.”
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