Gold fell on Thursday as investors booked profits after gold hit an all-time high earlier in the session, as U.S. restrictions on chip sales to China and continued tariff uncertainty boosted safe-haven demand for the metal.

Spot gold was up 0.1% at $3,338.81 an ounce by 0436 GMT, after hitting a record high of $3,357.40 earlier in the session. Gold prices have gained more than 3% so far this week.

“Everything is going gold’s way, pushing prices to fresh highs. While the pullbacks are reasonable, the precious metal is poised for further gains as the trade war drags on,” said Nikos Tsavoras, senior market analyst at Tradu.com.
Further escalating his dispute with trading partners, U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered an investigation into new tariffs on all critical mineral imports, in addition to reviews of pharmaceutical and chip imports.

Boeing (BA.N) ordered Beijing airlines to stop accepting further deliveries of its aircraft.
“China-Western tensions show no signs of easing … and the dollar has become a victim of Trump’s trade policies, with its role as a safe haven now further questioned, reinforcing the appeal of gold,” Tsavoras said.

The dollar index (.DXY), which was near a three-year low last week, has made gold more attractive to other currency holders.
“Volatility in both the stock and bond markets could push investors to increase their weighting in gold in their portfolios,” said Global X analyst Trevor Yates.

Gold, traditionally seen as a safe haven against political and economic uncertainty and inflation, has risen more than 27% so far this year.
“We maintain our bullish stance on gold, but a pullback to $3,050 an ounce seems likely after a rapid price rally in the recent past,” analysts at ANZ said.
Spot silver fell 0.6% to $32.54 an ounce, platinum fell 0.4% to $963.15, and palladium fell 1.4% to $958.24.