Gold tops $3,000 for first time on Trump tariff threats

Safe-haven gold surpassed $3,000 for the first time Friday, boosted by uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's tariffs, while stock markets gained on hopes US lawmakers will avert a government shutdown.

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“Markets hate uncertainty, and Trump's second tenure in the White House has served to provide huge instability over expectations for trade, jobs, inflation, and government spending,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.

However, Asian equities managed to end the week on a positive note, while European markets were also up in midday deals.

Stocks gained support from “hopes that the US government would avoid a shutdown of non-essential services,” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.

With just hours until a deadline to push a Republican spending bill through, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer dropped his threat to block it.

The package would keep the lights on through September, but Democrats have come under pressure from their grassroots to defy the plan, which they say is full of harmful spending cuts.

London's FTSE 100 index rose as the pound dropped against the dollar, after data showed the UK economy unexpectedly shrank in January.

In the eurozone, Paris and Frankfurt both rebounded after losses the previous day on US tariff threats.