Gold held near Monday's fresh record, as a wave of volatility sent traders to havens ahead of President Donald Trump's expected tariff rollout, which has heightened concerns the global economy is heading for a trade war.

Bullion was steady after surging 1.4% in the previous session to an all-time high of $3,127.92 an ounce. Traders are on edge as Trump plans to announce sweeping levies on all of America's trading partners on Wednesday. 

Gold is coming off its best quarter since September 1986 after gaining almost a fifth this year. Physical demand and a favorable macro backdrop are helping to drive the rally, according to Amy Gower, a commodity strategist at Morgan Stanley.

Recent investor buying of bars, coins and exchange-traded funds represent new inflow and there is "arguably plenty more to go," Gower said on Bloomberg TV. "And then there's also the macro angle to gold of how does it compete in an investor's portfolio against rates and equities and bonds."

Gower expects prices to rise to $3,300-$3,400 this year, joining several major banks that have raised their targets for the precious metal. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. this month ramped up its forecast to $3,300 an ounce by year-end.

Bullion is often the go-to haven in times of economic and political uncertainty. Investor holdings of physically-backed gold ETFs have climbed 6% so far in 2025 after four years of net outflows, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Gold's rally has been fueled by central-bank buying and haven demand amid rising geopolitical and macro uncertainties. Those drivers have supported prices even as swaps traders have pared bets on Federal Reserve easing this year to two quarter-point rate cuts. Lower rates tend to benefit non-yielding bullion.

Spot gold traded at $3,125.58 an ounce as of 7:46 a.m. in Singapore, and closed the first quarter up 19%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed. Silver, platinum and palladium were flat.

Source: Bloomberg