PRECIOUS-Gold climbs 1% as US tariff uncertainty lifts safe-haven demand

By Ishaan Arora

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Gold prices climbed 1% on Wednesday, as investors flocked to the safe-haven metal during Asian trading, weighing uncertainty over U.S. tariffs following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that struck down a swathe of President Donald Trump's measures.

Spot gold XAU= was at $5,198 per ounce, as of 0534 GMT. Bullion ended the previous session down more than 1%, as investors locked in profits after gold hit a three-week high earlier in the day.

U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for April delivery were up 0.8% at $5,217.30.

"The return of the Chinese market, along with increased policy uncertainty in the United States, is maintaining the appeal of gold and, to an extent, silver as well," said Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at Capital.com.

The United States began collecting a temporary 10% global import tariff on Tuesday, but Washington was working to raise it to 15%, a White House official said, sowing confusion over Trump's tariff policies after the Supreme Court's defeat last week.

Meanwhile, two U.S. Federal Reserve officials signaled no near-term appetite to change the setting of central bank interest rate policy.

"There's still ample room for further upside for gold here, especially if all the things driving gold prices higher, such as U.S. fiscal trade, foreign policy, continue to persist," Rodda added.

Trump briefly outlined the case for a possible attack on Iran during his State of the Union speech to Congress on Tuesday, saying he would not allow the country to obtain a nuclear weapon.

The remarks come as Iran inches closer to a deal with China to purchase anti‑ship cruise missiles, according to six people familiar with the negotiations. Iran and the U.S. are set to hold a third round of nuclear talks on Thursday in Geneva.

Spot silver XAG= climbed 3% to $89.92 per ounce, a three-week high.

Spot platinum XPT= rose 3.6% to $2,244.85 per ounce, its highest point since February 5, while palladium XPD= added 2.4% to a three-week high of $1,811.37.