BANGKOK, Sept 2, (AP): The price of gold hit a new record and world shares were mostly lower on Tuesday after US markets were closed for the Labor Day holiday. The spot price of gold, traditionally a haven for investors in times of uncertainty, climbed as high as $3,571.50 per ounce early Tuesday. That surpassed an intraday record of $3,509.90 an ounce set in April.

It later slipped back a bit, gaining 1.1% to $3,554.10 per ounce. President Donald Trump' s challenges to the US Federal Reserve and other institutions have shaken faith in the US dollar, prompting a shift into other investment options such as gold and silver, analysts say. The price of silver was up 2.4% at $41.72 an ounce on Tuesday, surpassing $40 an ounce for the first time since 2011.

"That’s not just a price tick; it’s the market’s confession that faith in fiat is wobbling,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. He noted that the price of the precious metal has nearly doubled since early 2023. Investors have been shifting away from US. Treasuries for years but that shift has accelerated this year due to worries over US government debt, trade tensions and geopolitical risks, said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

In early European trading, Germany's DAX dropped 0.8% to 23,844.50, while the CAC 40 in Paris was nearly unchanged at 7,707.41. In Britain, the FTSE 100 declined 0.5% to 9,153.46. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.2% lower. Since Wall Street was shuttered on Monday, analysts said traders also were still focusing on the potential implications of Friday's ruling by a US court against Trump’s higher tariffs on many countries around the world.

In Tokyo the Nikkei 225 picked up 0.3% to 42,310.49 as investors snapped up bargains following recent losses. An auction of 10-year Japanese government bonds was expected to test the stability of that market. Markets in China fell back from recent gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.4% to 25,525.64, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.5% to 3,858.13. South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.9% to 3,172.35, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gave up 0.3% to 8,900.60. India's Sensex rose 0.4% and the SET in Bangkok gained 0.4%.