Gold Finance reported that gold prices rose on Thursday, and the US session hit a historical high again, breaking through $2,960 per ounce, as tariff uncertainty rose and market bets that the Federal Reserve will relax monetary policy, keeping gold's attractiveness strong. "Gold is in a long-term bull market. We expect gold prices to trade between $3,000 and $3,200 this year," said Alex Ebkarian, COO of Allegiance Gold. U.S. President Trump's latest trade policy has helped gold rise 12% so far this year, amid geopolitical and economic turmoil, which is a favored asset for investors. In addition, U.S. Department of Labor data showed that PPI unexpectedly remained unchanged in February, while CPI rose 0.2% last month after accelerating by 0.5% in January. Meanwhile, the number of initial jobless claims in the United States fell last week, but sharp government spending cuts and escalating trade war threatened labor market stability. The Fed may be forced to lower interest rates. A drop in interest rates is seen as good for gold, because when yields fall, opportunity costs also fall.