Gold (GC=F) futures in New York retreated from record intra-day highs on Friday after the White House indicated it would clarify its trade position on the precious metal amid reports that imports of Swiss gold bars would not be exempt from tariffs.

“The White House intends to issue an executive order in the near future clarifying misinformation about the tariffing of gold bars and other specialty products," a White House official told Yahoo Finance.

At around 2:30 p.m. ET futures on the COMEX exchange traded near $3,461 after hitting an intraday high of $4,490 per ounce earlier in the session on a Financial Times report which said Customs and Border Patrol classified Swiss one-kilogram and 100-ounce bars of gold as subject to 39% reciprocal tariffs recently imposed on Switzerland by the Trump administration.

"The move is significant because 1-kilo and 100-ounce gold bars form the backbone of much of the gold trading activity in the United States," Ryan McIntyre, senior managing partner at investment manager Sprott, told Yahoo Finance.

McIntyre highlighted contracts on the Comex with physical delivery requirements are based in large part on Swiss bars, noting "the introduction of tariffs will likely inject additional uncertainty into that market."

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The prospect of tariffs on gold bars, also reported by Bloomberg, sent gold futures in New York skyrocketing as traders assessed the implications on transfers of the precious metals and how the futures market could be reshaped.

"Likely imposing 39% tariffs on Swiss kilobars is akin to pouring sand into an otherwise well functioning engine," UK-based Metals Daily CEO Ross Norman wrote.

On Friday morning, traders were weighing whether the steep tariffs on Swiss kilo bars reflect a real policy shift or a possible misclassification error.

"On a broader scale, the gold market is highly liquid and global, meaning we would expect gold flows to adjust in ways that minimize disruptions," McIntyre said.

Gold inventories in New York skyrocketed earlier this year as institutional investors shipped elevated amounts of physical bars to vaults in Manhattan ahead of tariff announcements.

In late March, inventories reached their highest level since the pandemic in 2021, according to Bloomberg data.

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Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.

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