Bullion markets breathe sigh of relief after Trump says gold will not face tariffs

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(Fixes typographical error in headline in story from August 11)

(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he would not impose tariffs on gold, a move welcomed by global bullion markets and which ended days of speculation that the yellow metal could be caught up in the ongoing global trade spat.

“Gold will not be Tariffed!” Trump said in a statement posted on his social media account. He gave no details.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection had posted a ruling on its website on Friday saying that Washington might place the most widely traded gold bullion bars in the United States under country-specific import tariffs, which would have rocked the metal’s global supply chains.

In response, a White House official told Reuters on Friday that the Trump administration was preparing an executive order “clarifying misinformation” about tariffs on gold bars and other specialty products.

A U.S. gold tariff would have been especially harmful for Switzerland, a major refining and transit hub for gold. Trump’s Monday post removes that concern.

“Delighted to hear the crisis has been averted,” said Ross Norman, an independent gold market analyst. “It will come as an enormous relief to the bullion markets, as the potential for disruption was incalculable.”

U.S. gold futures dropped 2.4% to $3,407 per ounce after Trump’s post on Monday, reducing a premium over spot gold, the global benchmark, which fell 1.2% to $3,357.

Shares of Barrick Mining fell 2.8% on Monday afternoon after the company posted quarterly results, while shares of Newmont – the world’s largest gold miner – were down slightly to $68.87. Both companies are major U.S. gold producers.

(Reporting by Pratima Desai, Ernest Scheyder and Jasper Ward; writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Leslie Adler)