Gold reaches $3,200 milestone on heightened economic uncertainty

Gold price climbed to a new record high of $3,200 an ounce, as worries about the effects of tariffs on the world economy drove investors to the secure refuge.

Bullion gained up to 1.3 percent in the early Asian market trading Friday. It surpassed the previous record recorded on Thursday, and ended the day more than 3percent higher in consecutive days.

Gold's "haven" status has been highlighted this week, as Trump's erratic statements about his tariff policy triggering panicked selloffs of US bonds, US stocks and the dollar as fears of a global recession gripped Wall Street. There was uncertainty and risk even after the 90-day suspension of Trump tariffs on more taxes that impacted a number of trade partners. This includes taxes to all Chinese imports at the moment being as high as 145 percent.

There's a growing doubt that trade talks will wrap in a timely fashion despite White House Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett saying the US is "well advanced" in its talks with its economic partners.

We are very optimistic about the gold market, Dominic Schnider, head of commodities and Asia Pacific currencies at UBS Global Wealth Management spoke via Bloomberg Television. The next step is likely to be, eventually it will be the Fed is expected to enter the scene and giving the next boost to gold.

Spot gold rate 1.2 percent up to $3,215.73 an ounce at 8.43 a.m. at Singapore and on track to achieve an average gain of 6 percent. In the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell for a fourth consecutive day. Platinum and silver rose but palladium remained little changed.

U.S. President Donald Trump's changing trade policies have helped gold, a commodity that is favored by investors during economic and geopolitical tensions. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said a recession is "worth it" to get Trump's economic policies in place.

The next item on the agenda will be the Federal Reserve's monetary policy session on Wednesday.