US-China trade tensions lift safe-haven gold to record high

April 11 (Reuters) - Gold prices raced to an all-time high on Friday, supported by recession concerns as escalating tariff tensions between the United States and China fuelled investor demand for safe-haven assets like bullion.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold XAU= was up 1% at $3,205.53 an ounce, as of 0039 GMT. Bullion scaled to an all-time peak of $3,217.43 earlier in the session, and has gained more than 5% for the week.

* U.S. gold futures GCcv1 climbed 1.5% to $3,226.50.

* While announcing a 90-day tariff pause on dozens of countries, U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese imports, raising them effectively to 145%.

* China has been matching each of Trump's tariff hikes with increases of its own, sparking fears that Beijing could push tariffs beyond the current 84% threshold.

* Gold's rally this year has also been fuelled by strong demand from central banks, expectations of interest rate easing by the Federal Reserve, geopolitical instability in the Middle East and Europe, and increased flows into gold-backed exchange traded funds.

* Data showed on Thursday that U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly fell in March, but inflation risks are tilted to the upside after Trump doubled down on China tariffs.

* Following the data, traders bet the U.S. Federal Reserve will resume cutting interest rates in June and probably reduce its policy rate by a full percentage point by the end of the year.

* Gold, traditionally seen as a hedge against political and economic uncertainty and inflation, has risen more than 21% this year.

* Spot silver XAG= gained 0.3% to $31.28 an ounce, platinum XPT= rose 0.1% to $938.35, while palladium XPD= rose 0.8% to $915.75.