The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday edition that gold reached a record high of $3,127.92 an ounce, rising 1.4 per cent, amid concerns over a potential global trade war as President Donald Trump prepares to announce new tariffs on Wednesday. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that the metal has gained for four consecutive weeks, driven by heightened demand during this risk-off market sentiment. Last week, Mr. Trump also signed a proclamation for a 25-per-cent tariff on auto imports. Morgan Stanley says physical demand and a favourable macro backdrop are helping to drive gold's rally. It adds recent investor buying of bars, coins and exchange traded funds represents "new inflow to gold coming through here and arguably plenty more to go here." Gold is up almost 19 per cent this year in a run that is seen it clinch at least 15 all-time highs. Morgan Stanley expects gold to rise further to $3,300 to $3,400 this year, joining several major banks which have raised their price targets for the precious metal. Goldman Sachs Group this month ramped up its forecast to $3,300 an ounce by year-end. The lender cited higher- than-expected central bank demand and strong inflows into bullion-backed exchange traded funds.