The British pound reached a new three-year peak against the US dollar on Monday, while gold prices approached an all-time high amid escalating trade tensions initiated by President Trump.

Sterling increased by 0.73 percent to $1.355, marking its highest value since mid-2022 and representing an over 8 percent rise against the dollar since the beginning of the year. Additionally, the pound appreciated 0.08 percent against the euro to €1.18, although it has seen a decline of 1.76 percent against the euro this year.

Gold prices climbed 1.75 percent to $3,349.65 per ounce, fueled by safe-haven demand as geopolitical and trade concerns resurfaced, with gold having hit an intraday record of $3,500.05 on April 22.

The dollar experienced a drop following a rise in tensions between Washington and Beijing, as the temporary relief in tariff hostilities appeared to be concluding. The dollar fell 0.66 percent against a basket of currencies and has decreased by nearly 9 percent over the last six months.

On Monday, China accused the United States of “seriously violating” a trade agreement after Trump claimed on Truth Social that China had completely breached its commitments.

Just last month, during discussions in Geneva, the US and China had agreed to cut tariffs on each other’s imports by 115 percentage points for a 90-day period, aiming to ease relations and pave the way for future trade negotiations.

Analysts from Deutsche Bank noted the difficulty in anticipating future trade developments, especially in light of recent court rulings affecting tariff policies.

A US trade court ruled last week that Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” were unlawful, although an appeals court temporarily reinstated them, with the White House indicating its intent to contest the original ruling.

Deutsche Bank commented, “It appears that tariff uncertainty is likely to persist for the foreseeable future, even if it seems we may have passed the peak of US trade policy aggressiveness.”

Trump has reaffirmed his dedication to protectionist measures after previously easing some of their harsher aspects. He announced late last week that tariffs on imported steel and aluminum would increase from 25 percent to 50 percent.

In commodities, oil prices also surged, with Brent crude, the international reference, rising by 3.27 percent to $64.81 per barrel. This increase followed OPEC+’s decision to maintain its output levels for July similar to the previous two months, a relief for traders expecting a more substantial output increase.

The FTSE 100 saw a minor increase of 0.06 percent, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 also rose by 0.06 percent. Additionally, the yield on the ten-year UK government bond increased by 4 basis points to 4.69 percent.