The yellow metal recovered to $3,050 per ounce in mid-trading on Thursday, March 27, benefiting from rising tensions over tariffs after the US president imposed new tariffs on autos and threatened to impose higher tariffs on the European Union. Gold traded at $3,052 per ounce before the US market opened, up about 1.09%, while silver traded at $34 per ounce, up 0.83%.

On Wednesday, the US president imposed new 25% tariffs on US auto imports, effective April 2, and threatened to impose much higher tariffs on the European Union if it cooperated with Canada to combat the imposed tariffs. This raised market concerns that these tariffs could lead to higher inflation and slower economic growth, in addition to escalating trade tensions, supporting the yellow metal’s rise.

US gross domestic product (GDP) rose in the fourth and final quarter of last year, ending in December, according to the third estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This was up from 2.3% in the previous reading, better than expectations, which indicated a flat rate and compared to 3.1% in the third quarter.

The better-than-expected increase in GDP growth reflected an increase in consumer and government spending, offset by a decline in investment and imports.

In a related development, weekly initial jobless claims fell to 224,000 in the week ending March 22, a decrease of 1,000 claims, bringing the four-week average down by 4,750 claims to 224,000.

Investment bank Goldman Sachs raised its year-end gold price forecast to $3,300 per ounce, following increased central bank purchases and exchange-traded fund inflows.

The US Dollar Index is down by about 0.30% today, trading at 103.95.

Platinum is trading at $975, up by about 0.12%. Palladium is down by about 0.48%, trading at $972