Gold prices rose slightly in Asian trade on Monday, taking some support from haven demand amid persistent uncertainty over U.S. trade tariffs, which are set to take effect in the coming weeks.
The results of Japan’s upper house elections, held over the weekend, showed the ruling Liberal Democratic Party losing its majority, casting doubts over the future of Japan’s government. The yen firmed after the results, reflecting some haven demand.
A mild pullback in the dollar, after a two-week ascent, also helped spur some gains in metal markets, although gold remained squarely in a $200 trading range seen since at least April.
Platinum and silver, however, continued to outperform amid sustained expectations of tighter supplies and improving demand.
Spot gold rose 0.4% to $3,364.21 an ounce, while gold futures for September rose 0.4% to $3,371.42/oz by 01:20 ET (05:20 GMT).
Gold clocks some gains amid US tariff uncertainty Gains in gold came after the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that the European Union was preparing retaliatory measures for U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.
This was in response to U.S. officials demanding more concessions from the bloc for a potential trade deal, including a baseline tariff rate of 15%, which caught EU negotiators off guard.
The WSJ report underscored uncertainty over U.S. trade policy, especially as an August 1 deadline for Trump’s tariffs to take effect draws closer. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that August 1 was a hard deadline for the tariffs, which range from 20% to as high as 50% on major economies.
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads. Haven demand was also boosted by uncertainty over Japan’s political outlook, after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s LDP lost its majority in the upper house. The loss complicates ongoing trade negotiations with the U.S., and also casts doubts over Japanese economic policy going forward, given that the LDP now faces more hurdles in enacting its reforms.
Platinum, silver upbeat and near recent peaks Broader metal prices advanced on Monday, taking advantage of a mildly softer dollar.
Spot platinum rose 1% to $1,439.59/oz, while spot silver rose 0.3% to $38.3045/oz.
Both precious metals have vastly outpaced gold in recent months, helped by a mix of bargain buying and by growing expectations of tighter supplies and increasing demand.
Platinum was close to a 11-year peak, while silver was near a 14-year high. They were trading up 29.2% and 53.5% so far in 2025, more than gold’s year-to-date gains of 28.4%.
Among industrial metals, benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.6% to $9,846.45 a ton, while COMEX copper futures rose 0.2% to $5.6170 a pound.
