Gold surges to fresh record high - ING

Gold surged to new record highs as President Trump threatened to fire US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, sparking a flight to safe-haven assets, ING's commodity experts Ewa Manthey and Warren Patterson note.

COMEX Gold inventories continue to trend lower

"Spot Gold settled more than 2.9% higher yesterday. The strength has continued in early morning trading today, with prices briefly breaking above US$3,440/oz. This comes as Trump ratchets up pressure on Powell to ease monetary policy, raising concerns about Fed independence. Exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings in Gold are at their highest levels since September 2023."

"In US dollar terms, though, this position is at a record high, given the strength in prices. Spot Gold is up more than 30% so far this year, making it the best-performing commodity. Meanwhile, COMEX Gold inventories continue to trend lower, falling by almost 2moz since early April to a little under 43.1moz."

"This decline comes as the arb into New York turns negative at times following news that Gold is exempt from tariffs."