Analysts predicted that gold prices will continue to rise in world markets as the global economic growth declines on the back of escalating trade war between the United States and China, which will prompt central banks to ease their monetary policies.
Gold jumped more than 1%, breaking $ 1550 an ounce on Monday, for the first time in more than six years, as investors scrambled for safe assets.
Investors have stepped up purchases of yellow-based funds at the expense of riskier funds, pending any developments in the trade dispute between the world's two most powerful economies.
Spot gold rose 0.3% to $ 1531.20 an ounce by 11:53 GMT, after hitting its highest level since April 2013 at $ 1554.56 earlier in the same session.
US gold futures rose 0.1% to $ 1,538.90 an ounce, before losing some of its gains during the day.
Safe haven
"What is happening because of trade tensions and the associated risk of a global slowdown or perhaps a global recession is driving investors towards safe havens to invest," said Carsten Minky, analyst at Julius Baer.
Washington imposed a 5 percent surcharge last week on targeted Chinese products worth $ 550 billion, hours after Beijing disclosed retaliatory duties on US products worth $ 75 billion.
"The trade war between the United States and China has reached a new level," Bloomberg quoted analysts at Swiss banking group UBS Group as saying. In mid-May. "
UBS estimates that gold will trade in three months at a price between 1450 and 1600 dollars an ounce, then at 1600 dollars an ounce in six months, then at 1650 dollars an ounce in 12 months.
The bank had previously expected the price to be around $ 1,500 in six months and then in 12 months.