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Gold hit a record high of $2,609 an ounce today, as the prospect of a new US interest rate cut boosted demand for the precious metal.
Gold hit $2,609.74 an ounce, two days after the Federal Reserve cut borrowing costs for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began, and signaled it could make further cuts.
The gold had hover Near record highs today, heading for weekly gains after big U.S. rate cut, with more cuts on the horizon.
Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $2,592.17 per ounce by 0309 GMT, and has risen about 0.6 percent since the start of the week.
Gold prices rose to a record high of $2,599.92 on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve began easing monetary policy by cutting interest rates by half a percentage point.
The bank also expected to cut interest rates by another half percentage point by the end of the year, a full percentage point next year, and an additional half percentage point in 2026.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.1 percent to $2,617.30.
“The current trends are very positive for gold, and if these favorable market conditions continue, prices could reach $2,600 to $2,800 in the next 12 months,” said Kyle Rodda, a financial markets analyst at Capital.com.
Lower interest rates in the US and geopolitical tensions are making gold more attractive to hold.
In the Middle East, Israeli warplanes late yesterday carried out their heaviest strikes on southern Lebanon in nearly a year of exchanges of fire with Hezbollah, exacerbating the conflict between the two sides.
“Gold prices are expected to be well supported in the coming months by a weaker US dollar and lower bond yields, as well as on the back of rising geopolitical tensions,” BMI said in a note.
As for other precious metals, silver rose in spot transactions by about 1 percent to $31.09 an ounce, and palladium rose 0.6 percent to $1,086.75.
Platinum was steady at $988.30, down about 0.9 percent since the start of the week.
