American CEOs Warn Higher Prices Ahead: That’s Good for Gold

Want to buy a new laptop, smartphone or video game system? You might want to buy it now, because major American CEOs are warning that they are going to be raising prices soon. While this may be painful for American consumers—rising prices means more inflation—and that’s good for gold.

On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump promised to enact a 10 to 20% tariff on imports from all foreign countries, and a 60 to 100% tariff on Chinese imports.

Tariffs are a tax on goods imported into the United States from foreign countries. The company that imports the goods into the United States is required to pay the tariff tax to the U.S. government.

Generally, companies are unwilling to take the hit on the tariff taxes they must pay to the U.S. government when they import these products. So they plan to pass those costs along to consumers in the form of higher prices. Here’s a snapshot of recent headlines:

Trump’s proposed tariffs would raise prices for these products—ABC News, Nov. 18

Tariffs Could Make Your Holiday Shopping Pricier in 2025—Kiplinger, Nov. 21

3 Major Retailers Who Will Raise Prices Immediately—Yahoo Finance, Nov. 22.

Best Buy says Trump’s tariffs could force it to raise prices –CBS News, Nov. 26

On recent earnings calls, three major U.S. retailers have already said their prices will go up. These include: Auto Zone, Columbia Sportswear and Stanley Black and Decker.

So how much could this actually cost American consumers?

The National Retail Federation did a study and here’s what they found: A 10% tariff on all imports and an additional 60% tariff on imports from China would boost the price of the average household appliance by 19.4%. That assumes that the retailers fully pass on the additional tariff cost to consumers. For example, that means the price of a basic refrigerator would rise from around $650 to $776.

Electronic price increases could be even more and that includes video game consoles, smartphones and even computers. A 10% across-the-board import tariff plus the additional 60% on Chinese goods could result in a 45% increase in the consumer prices for laptops and tablets, according to analysis from the Consumer Technology Association. On average, that means consumers would pay $357 more for laptops and $201 for tablets.

So, brace yourself, inflation isn’t going away anytime soon.

What does this mean for gold?

Earlier this year, gold soared past $2,700 in part due to ongoing inflation concerns. Gold has an inherently limited physical supply. Gold does not perish or degrade over time, and this all helps to make gold a strategic inflation hedge.

Since ancient times, gold has been used as a store of value and a form or currency and today provides even more value to investors. Compared to other modern forms of investment, gold holds a significant advantage—as gold has no default risk.

Gold has a proven track record in protecting purchasing power over the long run, which is a major reason investors have been flocking to the precious metal in 2024. Analysts predict gold could hit $3,000 in 2025 as inflation ramps up even more. The time is right to add gold to your portfolio before it climbs even more. Don’t wait too long, higher prices are just around the corner.

Want to read more? Subscribe to the Blanchard Newsletter and get our tales from the vault, our favorite stories from around the world and the latest tangible assets news delivered to your inbox weekly.