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Gold prices rose to a new record high on Tuesday, driven by comments from Federal Reserve officials that reflected a more dovish bias in monetary policy and by rising tensions in the Middle East.
Spot gold was up 0.3 percent at $2,636.85 an ounce by 0507 GMT, having hit a record $2,638.37 earlier in the session. It also hit an all-time high on Monday.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.4 percent to $2,661.60 an ounce.
Chicago Fed President Austin Goolsbee said Monday he expects “many more rate cuts over the next 12 months” as the Fed seeks a “soft landing” for the economy, controlling inflation without collapsing the labor market.
Comments from U.S. policymakers are being closely watched after the Federal Reserve’s decision last week to cut interest rates by half a percentage point.
Other Fed speakers on Monday, including Atlanta Fed President Raphael Boucek and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, justified the central bank’s big move on interest rates.
As for other precious metals, silver rose in spot transactions by 1.3 percent to $31.07 per ounce, platinum rose by 1.4 percent to record $969.35 per ounce, and palladium rose by 1.1 percent to $1053.09 per ounce.
