PRECIOUS-Gold surges past $2,800 as tariff threats reignite record rally

Updates after market close

By Anmol Choubey

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Gold prices surpassed the key $2,800 mark for the first time on Friday, fuelled by a rush to safety following U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats, which heightened concerns about global economic growth and inflationary pressures.

Spot gold XAU= rose 0.3% to $2,801.29 per ounce by 01:41 p.m. ET (1841 GMT), after hitting a record peak of $2,817.23 earlier in the session.

U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled 0.4% lower at $2,835, trading a premium to spot gold rates.

"There's a lot of uncertainty out there right now and also wait-and-see attitude on the geopolitical stage with tariffs," said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.

Trump has set a Saturday deadline to slap a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and said he was still considering new tariffs on Chinese goods.

Bullion, a preferred asset during times of economic and geopolitical turmoil, is on track to record its best monthly performance since March 2024, rising nearly 7% so far. The metal surpassed multiple record peaks last year.

Additionally, "the mixed signals we're getting from the Fed and the Trump administration right now is causing uncertainty in the market ... Trump wants to cut interest rates, while the Fed wants to hold them steady," Haberkorn added.

Earlier this week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said there would be no rush to cut interest rates again, contradicting Trump's earlier calls saying he wants borrowing costs to be lowered.

U.S. prices increased in December while consumer spending surged, suggesting that the Fed could delay cutting interest rates for some time this year.

Among other metals, spot silver XAG= fell 0.8% to $31.42 after hitting an over one-month high on Thursday.

"We expect this strength in (silver) prices to attract subsequent discretionary trader interest, given this cohort remained nearly flat as of last week, with gold printing new all-time highs and the XAUXAG (gold-to-silver) ratio remaining at elevated levels," TD Securities said in a note.

Platinum XPT= firmed 1% to $975.80, while palladium XPD= rose 2.2% to $1,011.

All three metals were headed for monthly gains.