A massive arbitrage trade that has drawn tens of billions of dollars’ worth of gold and silver to the U.S. came to an abrupt halt with Wednesday’s announcement that precious metals would be exempt from Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. For several months, prices in New York have traded at large and unusual premiums to global benchmarks as traders weighed the risk that precious metals could be caught up in tariffs. The differential created an incentive for banks and traders to load planes and ships with so much bullion that it distorted U.S. trade data in the process. On Thursday, U.S. premiums for precious metals ... (full story)