Market Minute ⏱️ 8/8/25: Gold Flirts with Fresh Highs Amid Tariff Turmoil

Mike Larson | Editor-in-Chief

Stocks are recouping some of yesterday’s modest declines in early trading. But gold is where the action is. The yellow metal is flirting with fresh all-time highs, while silver is rising alongside. Treasuries and the dollar are modestly lower, while crude oil is up a bit.

First it was copper that got whipsawed by tariffs. Now, gold is seeing its own policy-related volatility. In response to recent industry inquiries, the US Customs and Border Protection department clarified that imports of one-kilogram and 100-ounce gold bars are subject to tariffs. Bars of that weight are the deliverables that back US-traded gold futures on the Comex, even as larger 400-ounce bars are the benchmark in London.

Gold Futures (5-Day Chart)

Result: US prices jumped even further overnight to a record high above $3,500, before pulling back this morning. Plus, the spread between US pricing and London pricing blew out to more than $100 an ounce. It’s important to note that gold has been rising for many other reasons, but this just adds to the interest…and volatility…in metals.

In other news, the race to build data centers to handle Artificial Intelligence (AI) computing needs is intensifying. Meta Platforms Inc. (META) just teamed up with Pimco and Blue Owl Capital Corp. (OBDC) to raise $29 billion to build out centers in Louisiana. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is teaming up with financial giants like BlackRock Inc. (BLK) to raise as much as $100 billion to fund AI infrastructure spending.

Finally, Firefly Aerospace Inc. (FLY) became the latest sizzling Initial Public Offering (IPO) to hit the markets yesterday. It sold 19.3 million shares at $45, raising $868 million. Then the stock surged to $60.35 at Thursday’s close. FLY is raising money to fund private space exploration projects, including the Blue Ghost moon lander and Eclipse reusable rocket. It freely admits it will lose money on its operations for the foreseeable future.

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