Gold prices hit an all-time high on Thursday, rising for the fifth straight session as investors turned to the safe-haven asset amid escalating US-China trade tensions, a federal government shutdown, and expectations of imminent US rate cuts. Spot gold climbed 0.2 per cent to $4,217.39 per ounce by 0611 GMT, after reaching a record $4,241.77 earlier in the session. US gold futures for December delivery gained 0.7 per cent to $4,232. The rally comes as Washington and Beijing imposed reciprocal port fees and traded threats over rare-earth exports and oil purchases from Russia. The ongoing US government shutdown, now in its second week, is estimated to cost the economy up to $15 billion a week. With investors pricing in a near-certain 25-basis-point rate cut this month and another in December, non-yielding gold—up 61 per cent so far this year—continues to benefit from rate-cut expectations, central bank buying, and de-dollarisation trends. ANZ forecasts prices will reach $4,400 per ounce by year-end. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed ETF, rose to 1,022.60 tons on Wednesday, the highest since July 2022. Spot silver eased 0.5 per cent to $52.78 per ounce after touching a record $53.60 earlier this week. Attribution: Reuters
