Gold Set for Third Weekly Gain in Record Run on Rate-Cut Bets
Gold headed for a third weekly gain after setting successive record highs on optimism the Federal Reserve will maintain an aggressive pace of interest-rate cuts this year.
Spot bullion was steady on Friday after reaching an all-time peak of $2,685.58 an ounce in the previous session. It's up almost 2% so far this week. Silver has been rising even faster than gold and hit the highest since 2012 on Thursday.
The Fed kicked off its pivot last week with a half-point cut, and traders have boosted bets on another 75 basis points of reductions this year. Lower rates tend to benefit gold, which doesn't pay interest. The central bank's preferred inflation indicator for August is due Friday, which could influence the easing path.
Gold has rallied by almost a third this year on the rate-cut optimism, as well as robust central-bank purchases and heightened geopolitical tension that's driven haven demand. A too-close-to-call US presidential election that could be massively consequential for markets is less than six weeks away.
Spot gold declined 0.1% to $2,670.80 an ounce as of 8:23 a.m. in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%. Silver, platinum and palladium all edged lower.
Source : Bloomberg
