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US gold futures hit a historic high on Friday after the Financial Times reported that the Trump administration had imposed tariffs on imports of one-kilo gold bars.
Futures traded on the Comex, the world’s largest gold futures market, were up 0.9% at $3,484.60 an ounce as of around 11am CEST. This came after the futures hit an all-time high of $3,534.10.
The FT said it had seen a letter from the US Customs Border Protection agency, dated 31 July, which stated that one-kilo and 100-ounce gold bars should be classified under a customs code subject to levies. Investors had previously expected these types of gold bars to be exempt from Trump’s tariffs.
In April, Washington had excluded metals like gold, silver, and platinum from broad US import duties, reducing the price of Comex futures as investors ruled out a supply squeeze.
Before this, traders had been buying cheaper foreign gold and bringing it into the US, capitalising on the price difference between US futures and other benchmarks.
So far this year, gold Comex futures have risen almost 34% as investors adapt to geopolitical uncertainty, viewing gold as a secure place to park their money.
In times of instability, gold is considered a safe-haven asset because its value is less volatile than other investments, even when currencies fall.
“Sustained by factors like its safe haven credentials and a weakening dollar in 2025 – this latest development will have gold bugs eyeing the $4,000 level,” said AJ Bell head of financial analysis Danni Hewson on Friday, referring to the FT report.
“The news is more bad news for Switzerland after being hit by a shock 39% export tariff to the US, given it is one of the biggest precious metal hubs globally,” she added.
Gold is one of Switzerland’s most significant exports to the US, and the country sent around $61.5bn (€52.8bn) of gold to the US over the 12 months ending in June.
The tariff report comes as a fresh blow to Switzerland after the US administration announced a 39% levy on its exports last week.
Switzerland’s President Karin Keller-Sutter and other top officials travelled to Washington on Tuesday to try to lower the tariff rate, among the highest imposed by the Trump administration.
The new rate is over 2.5 times higher than the one on European Union goods exported to the US and nearly four times higher than the one on British exports.
It is also steeper than the 31% rate that Trump proposed for Swiss goods when he announced his so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs in early April.
So far, Switzerland’s powerful pharmaceutical industry, which has promised major investments in the US in recent months amid the tariff worries, is exempt from the 39% rate.
