100 Days In: Trump’s ‘Strategic Uncertainty’ on Tariffs Leaves Markets Guessing

February was a good month for metals with the Global Precious Metals Monthly Metals Index rising 7.36%. Gold continued its record-breaking run, reaching $2,942.70 per ounce, prompting major institutions to raise their forecasts – UBS now projects a peak of $3,200, while Goldman Sachs targets $3,100 by year-end. Silver has also shown significant strength, climbing to $32.80 per ounce on combined safe-haven and industrial demand. Palladium led percentage gains with a 9.17% increase to $976 per ounce, despite facing market uncertainty from Trump Administration tariffs and production changes at Sibanye Stillwater. Platinum maintained steady growth with a 6.63% increase to

China’s gold market showed mixed signals in January 2025, with the People’s Bank of China adding another 5 tonnes to its reserves, bringing total holdings to 2,285 tonnes. While gold prices saw their strongest January in years, with LBMA and Shanghai benchmarks rising 8% and 5% respectively, retail demand remained subdued. Despite a 3% monthly increase in SGE withdrawals to 125 tonnes, overall demand stayed below historical levels, and Chinese gold ETFs experienced outflows of US$399 million.

Analysis of 1,127 records from Elon Musk’s DOGE commission reveals $8.5 billion in claimed federal budget cuts across 39 agencies in its first month. USAID has been hit hardest with $6.5 billion in cuts, followed by the Department of Education at $502 million and Social Security Administration at $232 million. However, questions remain about the commission’s reporting accuracy and the timeline over which these “savings” would actually occur.