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Oliver Helbig \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
Gold futures prices soared Friday after it was reported that President Donald Trump recently had placed a tariff on gold bars from Switzerland. <\/p>\n
Gold futures prices in New York jumped to record levels early Friday after it was reported that the U.S. had placed tariffs on gold bars from Switzerland.<\/p>\n
Financial Times reported Thursday that the levies had been placed on the most common weight of gold bullion from Switzerland as of early April.<\/p>\n
Gold mining stocks closed higher Friday, while gold futures pared earlier gains on news of the Trump administration’s plans to clarify that no levies would be imposed on gold.<\/p>\n
The gold market was whiplashed by on-and-possibly-off again tariffs imposed on Swiss bullion.<\/p>\n
The Financial Times first reported on Thursday that the U.S. had placed levies on gold bars. On Friday morning, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection service’s website showed a letter ruling from the service dated July 31, saying cast gold 1-kilogram bullion and 100-troy-ounce<\/a> bullion bars from Switzerland should be placed under customs classifications that are subject to tariffs that were effective as of April 5.<\/p>\n Gold futures prices\u00a0in New York rose to record levels<\/a>, briefly hitting a high of $3,500 per troy ounce on Friday, and were trading at a premium over benchmark spot prices in London. That futures prices spiked over spot would make sense\u2014they typically trade at a premium, because there is no carry cost embedded in spot. Buyers of gold futures<\/a>, however, are locking in a price for delivery at a future date, which, for gold bars, would include relevant expenses like the cost of storage.<\/p>\n Gold futures pared gains to around $3,450 per troy ounce, pushing its premium to spot down to normalized levels, following a Bloomberg report that the Trump administration would in the “near-future” issue an executive order clarifying that there would be no duties imposed on gold bars from Switzerland.<\/p>\n Gold mining stocks, including Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), Royal Gold (RGLD), and US Gold Corp. (USAU), closed higher on Friday, outperforming the broad market.<\/p>\n Trump announced levies of 31% for Switzerland in April, but raised the rate<\/a> to 39% last week. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter reportedly left Washington, D.C., without a deal in hand earlier this week, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n One-kilo bars are the most commonly traded size of gold<\/a> bars on the world’s largest gold futures market, COMEX<\/a>.<\/p>\n If tariffs on gold are imposed, Switzerland would be in a tight spot. According to statistics for 2024 compiled by Trading Economics based on the United Nations international trade database, pearls, precious stones, metals, and coins are the country’s second-highest imports to the U.S. by value, behind only pharmaceuticals.<\/p>\n