Gold Up, Silver Down As Markets Brace For Tariff Action

 

Gold Up, Silver Down As Anxious Markets Brace For Weekend Tariffs

(Bullion News Network) – Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, confirmed today that President Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico will likely go into effect on Saturday. The announcement sent shockwaves through American markets. Wall Street stuttered at the news, with the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all slipping as traders grapple with the impending tariffs on America’s allies and adversaries. The precious metals response to President Trump’s tariff plans was notably muted, with gold logging moderate gains above the $2,800 line and silver slipping nearly $0.30 to hover around the $31.40/ozt level.

Investor concerns over tariffs helped drive gold to an all-time high earlier this week. The yellowish precious metal crossed $2,800 per troy ounce for the first time ever on the news today, though it remains less than $5 above the $2,800 level. Despite today’s retraction, silver bulls enjoyed a successful week; the precious metal gained over $1.40 since Monday. Today’s price action pushed the gold-silver ratio up by 1.09 points to 89.21:1, as of 3:47 PM CST. This movement comes on the heels of a silver-dominated news cycle on Wednesday and Thursday that drove the same ratio down to 88.32:1.

President Trump is expected to finalize tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico on Saturday. These tariffs will include 25% fees on imports from Mexico and Canada, as well as an additional 10% tariff on many Chinese goods. Economists say that the effects of these aggressive tariffs may be difficult to predict. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta finds that “as many as 99%” of economists consider tariffs to be an “inadvisable” policy, and some experts say that a tariff-provoked trade war between the U.S. and its allies could significantly raise prices for American consumers. So far, it is unclear whether certain commodities will be exempted from President Trump’s tariffs, but it seems unlikely that precious metals will be among the exempted asset list.

The stock market’s gains were erased in the hours following Leavitt’s announcement during a press briefing earlier this morning. As for gold, prices jumped in the early morning trading hours and made further gains after the White House press briefing but erased some of that positive price action later in the day. Silver prices remained relatively stable until 1:30 PM CST, when the precious metal lost around $0.10/ozt before recovering to the $31.40/ozt level.

Despite market concerns and correspondingly negative price action in the face of the White House’s tariff plans, CNN Business’ fear and greed index shows that American markets remain neutral to end the week. The index notes a market feeling of “extreme fear” concerning stock price strength but “greed” surrounding safe haven demand.

Rumors of gold shortages in London drove gold prices higher earlier this week as investors on Wall Street braced for the potential impacts of President Trump’s tariffs. Both inflation and trade wars could drive higher demand for safe haven assets like gold, analysts say, and some economists say that the White House’s tariff plans could inject both into the world economy. This safe haven demand helped drive gold to an all-time high to end January 2025, and some analysts say prices could go even higher as markets react to a slew of geopolitical and economic uncertainties throughout the year.

As of January 31st, 2025, gold prices are up 6.8% on the year and 1.1% on the week. Silver prices on January 31st have increased 9% since the beginning of 2025 and 2.6% since Monday.