PRECIOUS-Gold holds near record peak as investors await Trump tariff plan

By Ashitha Shivaprasad and Rahul Paswan

April 2 (Reuters) - Gold prices held firm on Wednesday after jumping to an all-time high in the previous session, as investors hunkered down and awaited details of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans.

Spot gold XAU= rose 0.3% to $3,119.26 an ounce by 1205 GMT. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 also gained 0.3% to $3,155.80.

Bullion has been a preferred investment choice with economic and geopolitical uncertainties running high. Spot prices are now trading over $400 higher than they were before Trump took office in January and hit a record peak of $3,148.88 on Tuesday.

For weeks, Trump has been promoting April 2 as "Liberation Day" and he is expected to introduce sweeping new tariffs on multiple countries at a White House Rose Garden event at 2000 GMT. These tariffs could slow economic growth and escalate trade disputes, experts say.

"The precious metal may surge to yet another record high if President Trump’s next tariff announcement prompts markets to brace for a stagflation scenario, or even a recession," said Han Tan, Exinity Group's chief market analyst.

Anecdotes from the Institute for Supply Management survey on Tuesday offered a gloomy assessment of U.S. business conditions, with U.S. manufacturing contracting in March.

UBS's base case forecast for gold for the year is $3,200/oz, "but our upside case could see gold even going to $3,500 if we get a sharp economic slowdown", said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

On the data front, markets are waiting for the ADP employment report due later in the day and non-farm payrolls on Friday, for any hints on the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy path.

"Gold will once again be an outperformer within the wider metals complex, a scenario that would be put into limbo only if the U.S. Fed proceeds to raise interest rates instead," analysts at BMI said.

Among other metals, spot silver XAG= rose slightly to $33.76, while platinum XPT= dropped 0.1% at $978.71, and palladium XPD= firmed 0.1% to $984.75.