Gold climbed to a three-week high while bitcoin fell sharply below $65,000 as markets reacted to escalating uncertainty over US trade policy. The flight to safety was triggered by a 6–3 Supreme Court ruling last Friday that struck down President Donald Trump’s broad “reciprocal” tariffs as an illegal overreach of executive power. In response, Trump announced a new global levy under Section 122 of the Trade Act, immediately raising it from 10 to 15 percent, further intensifying market volatility.
Bullion rose as much as 1.4 percent on Monday, touching $5,180 an ounce, as investors sought refuge from potential economic and legal friction stemming from the tariff dispute. In contrast, bitcoin tumbled nearly 5 percent to $64,300 at one point, its lowest level since early February, before briefly recovering above $65,000. The cryptocurrency had surged in the past year on hopes of a crypto-friendly second Trump term, peaking at $126,000 in October, but the recent contraction has erased roughly $100 billion in market value over 24 hours.
Analysts attribute gold’s rally to a combination of geopolitical tension, trade uncertainty, and a loss of confidence in traditional dollar assets. Investors are increasingly viewing bullion as a hedge against dollar volatility, especially as global trade friction threatens to persist. The dollar itself weakened against a basket of currencies as markets considered possible retaliatory measures from America’s largest trading partners and looming nuclear negotiations with Iran, set against heightened US military activity in the Middle East.
Major investment banks are revising their gold forecasts upward amid this structural shift. JP Morgan now targets $6,300 an ounce for 2026, citing central banks’ diversification away from the dollar, while Goldman Sachs projects $5,400 an ounce by year-end as trade tensions remain entrenched. The combination of legal uncertainty, geopolitical risks, and shifting market sentiment is driving investors to reallocate toward traditional safe havens, signaling a renewed “sell America” trade that could have far-reaching implications for global financial markets.
