March 3 (Reuters) - Gold's relatively large decline last week is unlikely to be sustained amid widening geopolitical rifts and looming U.S. tariff deadlines.

Gold shed 3% last week, its worst decline in three months, after reaching a record $2956.15. A stronger U.S. dollar, profit-taking near the much-anticipated $3000 target, and deleveraging related to stock market losses took a toll.

U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods, which go into effect on March 4, and threat of an extra 10% duty on Chinese imports are likely to trigger retaliatory tariffs from the affected countries. The inflationary impact of these actions should support gold.

With U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging Canada and Mexico to match U.S. tariffs on China, trade tensions between the world's two largest economies will rise, supporting gold.

Friday's clash between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump and Europe's rising differences with the U.S. over its Russia policy will also underpin safe-haven gold, as investors monitor European efforts to draw up a Ukraine peace plan.

The U.S. economy is slowing rapidly, and growth is likely to contract this quarter. This could prompt the Federal Reserve to dial down its cautious tone on rate cuts, in a boost for gold.

XAU/USD has strong support at $2795-2813, and looks likely to resume its uptrend to test the $2956 high. A loss of support would extend the decline to $2746-2758.
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(Krishna Kumar is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own. Editing by Sonali Desai)