Gold Soars to Record $2,710 as Asian Markets Tank – Trade War Fallout!

 Asian stock markets slumped Tuesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropping 2.1% to 38,900 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falling 1.8% to 17,200, as U.S.-China trade tariffs deepened economic uncertainty, per Bloomberg data.

 The declines followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s 10% levy on Chinese imports, effective April 14, prompting China’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods, set for April 21. Shanghai’s Composite bucked the trend, gaining 0.4% to 3,280, buoyed by state-backed buying, Reuters reported.

Gold, a safe-haven asset, soared to a record $2,710 per ounce, up 3.2% from Monday, driven by fears of inflation and trade war escalation, per London Bullion Market figures. “Investors are hedging against volatility,” said analyst Mei Zhang of HSBC, noting gold’s 25% yearly rise. Currency markets saw the U.S. dollar strengthen to ¥150 against the yen, a three-month high, while oil prices dipped 0.5% to $70 per barrel, reflecting demand concerns, per ICE Futures. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index fell 1.5%, its worst day in two months, signaling broader unease as global trade contracted 1% in Q1 2025, per WTO estimates.