PRECIOUS-Gold eases from record peak on profit-taking; Trump's tariffs in focus

By Anjana Anil and Anushree Mukherjee

April 3 (Reuters) - Gold dipped on Thursday as traders locked in profits after prices hit a record high, following a rush to safe-haven assets triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive import tariffs, which escalated the already intense global trade war.

Spot gold XAU= was down 0.4% at $3,122.1, as of 0710 GMT. Earlier in the session, bullion hit an all-time high of $3,167.57.

U.S. gold futures GCcv1 fell 0.7% to $3,145.00.

Trump unveiled on Wednesday a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the U.S., and higher duties on dozens of countries, including some of its biggest trading partners, deepening a trade war that has rattled global markets.

The reciprocal tariffs do not apply to certain goods, including gold, energy and "certain minerals that are not available in the U.S.," according to a White House fact sheet.

One of the factors supporting gold was "the slowdown that tariffs are likely to cause the U.S. economy, raising the prospects of future rate cuts," Capital.com's financial market analyst Kyle Rodda said.

The Trump administration confirmed that the 25% global car and truck tariffs will take effect on April 3, as planned, and duties on automotive parts imports will be launched on May 3.

Gold is in "a pure momentum trade, where bulls who were left for dust are agonising on the side line, eager for even the smallest of dips, and until we see a volatile shakeout big enough to stun bulls and bears, the momentum trade could continue higher," said Matt Simpson, a senior analyst at City Index.

Gold, a hedge against political and financial instabilities, has surged more than 19% year-to-date, mainly driven by tariff jitters, rate- cut possibilities, geopolitical conflicts, and central bank buying.

"There's also some front running going on amongst traders who anticipate (Trump's) policies will drive central banks to park their reserves in gold rather than U.S. dollar-denominated assets," Rodda said.

Market awaits U.S. non-farm payrolls report due on Friday for clues into the Federal Reserve's policy path.

Spot silver XAG= slipped 2.8% to $33.07 an ounce, platinum XPT= fell 1.5% to $968.37, and palladium XPD= lost 1.4% to $956.50.