The Fort Knox Alaska operations of mining company Kinross, which has a new gold mine in Tetlin, Alaska, that has led to lawmaker concerns about trucking’s impact.
Courtesy: Kinross
Gold prices hit an all-time high on Monday as a slowing U.S. 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 1% at $2,439.39 per ounce after hitting a record high above $2440 earlier in the session.
U.S. gold futures rose 1.1.% to $2,443.30.
The main driver for gold is that there is a soft U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 1.3% to $31.89 after hitting an over 11-year high.
Barbara Terrio is a seasoned business journalist, delving into the world of finance, startups, and entrepreneurship. With a knack for demystifying complex economic trends, she helps readers navigate the business landscape. Outside of her reporting, Barbara is an advocate for financial literacy and enjoys mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs.
