Gold Hits Record Peak, Silver Jumps

FILE PHOTO: A saleswoman picks gold necklaces to show it to a customer inside a jewelry showroom on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold buying festival, in Kochi, India, May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Sivaram V/File Photo

Gold prices hit an all-time high on Monday as a slowing US inflation trend boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve could deliver its first interest rate cut soon, while silver scaled a more than 11-year peak.
Spot gold was up 0.9% at $2,436.76 per ounce, as of 0340 GMT after hitting a record high of $2440.49 earlier in the session.
US gold futures rose 1% at $2,440.60, Reuters reported.
The main driver for gold is that there is a soft US dollar and sentiment is being boosted on the basis that the Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates soon, said Kyle Rodda, a financial market analyst at Capital.com. The dollar index> remained subdued, making greenback-priced bullion more attractive to buyers holding other currencies. Data last week showed signs of cooling inflation and traders now expect a 65% chance of a US rate cut by September.
Bullion is known as an inflation hedge, but higher rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.
Minutes of the Fed's last policy meeting due on Wednesday along with comments from a slew of Fed speakers will be on investors' radar for this week.
"Gold prices sneaked in a cheeky record high ahead of China's (market) open on Monday. Yet as the move has not been confirmed with by a weaker US dollar, it seems to have been caught a tailwind from higher metals futures on China's exchanges," said City Index senior analyst Matt Simpson.
China, the top consumer of bullion and a majority of industrial metals, announced "historic" steps on Friday to stabilize its crisis-hit property sector.
According to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao, spot gold may test resistance at $2,447 per ounce, a break above could trigger a gain to $2,455.
Spot silver rose 2.5% to $32.28 after hitting an over 11-year high.
Platinum rose 0.7% to $1,088.75, after hitting its highest since May 12, 2023. Palladium dropped 0.5% to $1,013.56.