Today's Edition
London (AFP)
Gold surpassed $3,000 for the first time on Friday as US President Donald Trump's trade wars boosted demand for the safe-haven asset, while stock markets bounced on signs US lawmakers would avert a government shutdown.
US shares rose in early deals after slumping in recent sessions while Asian equities ended the week on a positive note.
European stock markets were also given a lift in afternoon deals after Germany moved closer to approving a massive infrastructure and defence spending programme.
In Washington, with just hours until a deadline to push a Republican spending bill through, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer dropped his threat to block it.
The package would keep the government operating through September, but Democrats have come under pressure from their base to defy the plan, which they say is full of harmful spending cuts.
Stocks gained support from "a burgeoning sense that a government shutdown will be averted after Senator Schumer said he will vote for House-passed continuing resolution," said Patrick O'Hare, analyst at Briefing.com.
Times of uncertainty
Gold, a haven in times of uncertainty, rose as much as $3,004 an ounce before paring back gains later in the day to trade just under $3,000.
The precious metal was "boosted on increased haven demand amid trade war risks and recent stock market volatility", said Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at City Index and Forex.com.
Trump said he would not row back on the metals duties, nor his plans for sweeping tariffs on countries worldwide that are to kick in on April 2.
Wall Street has been hammered in recent sessions by trade tensions, with the S&P 500 slipping into a technical correction on Thursday, having fallen more than 10 percent from the record high it hit just last month.
Some analysts warned that Friday's rebound would be short-lived.
