A worker polishes gold bullion bars at the ABC Refinery in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 5, 2020. David Gray/AFP via Getty Images
Gold futures surged to a fresh all-time high late Thursday after the U.S. government confirmed that the most widely traded gold bars—the one-kilogram and 100-ounce types used to settle COMEX contracts—would now be subject to import tariffs.
On Aug. 7, gold futures on COMEX briefly spiked above $3,510 per troy ounce, before settling around $3,489 the next day. The rally followed a report in the Financial Times and newly released documentation from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which clarified that these bars fall under tariff code 7108.13.5500—a classification not included in the U.S. tariff exclusion list, making them subject to President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.
