PRECIOUS-Gold bolts past key $3,200 mark on dollar slide, safe-haven flows

By Anushree Mukherjee and Anjana Anil

April 11 (Reuters) - Gold prices breached the crucial $3,200/oz level for the first time on Friday, fuelled by a weaker dollar and an escalating trade war that sent investors rushing toward safe-haven assets.

Spot gold XAU= was up 0.7% at $3,195.09 an ounce, as of 0700 GMT. Bullion rose more than 1% to scale an all-time peak of $3,219.84 earlier in the session, and has gained around 5% this week.

U.S. gold futures GCcv1 climbed 1.1% to $3,213.40.

"The rapid weakening of the U.S. dollar seems to be the main driver of gold's rebound at the moment. That seems to reflect an ongoing exodus from USD-based assets, with stocks and bonds' selloff amid tariff policy uncertainty," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.

The dollar .DXY was down 0.5% against its major peers, making greenback-priced bullion cheaper for overseas buyers.

Major stock indexes also fell after U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%, but hit a 90-day pause on previously announced tariffs for dozens of countries.

China has been matching Trump's tariff hikes, sparking fears that Beijing could push duties on the U.S. beyond the current 84%.

The "$3,500 is the next round number people will be looking at. I suspect we won't get there immediately or without bumps along the way," Capital.com's financial market analyst Kyle Rodda said.
Apart from tariffs, central bank demand, expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, geopolitical instability in the Middle East and Europe, and increased flows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds also fuelled the metal's rally this year.

U.S. consumer prices fell unexpectedly in March but inflation risks are tilted to the upside, data showed.

Traders now bet that the Fed will resume cutting rates in June and probably reduce by a full percentage point by the end of 2025.

Spot silver XAG= edged 0.1% higher to $31.21 an ounce, while platinum XPT= eased 0.3% to $935.42. Palladium XPD= gained 0.5% to $913.28.