Amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and expectations that the Federal Reserve may adopt a more relaxed monetary policy this year, gold prices have soared to a new all-time high. On the 20th, bullion prices rose 1.4% in Asia, hitting $2450.07 per ounce and surpassing the previous intra-day record set in April.
Last Wednesday’s data revealed that the U.S. dollar weakened, and bonds rebounded following an April inflation report that was more subdued than anticipated.
Hedge funds trading COMEX futures have increased their gold-buying positions to a three-week high last week. This activity indicates that gold has emerged from a relatively narrow trading range over the past few weeks amid ongoing uncertainty regarding the U.S. interest rate trajectory. So far this year, gold prices have climbed nearly 20%, fueled by a robust rally that broke records throughout April.
The strength in gold is related to central bank purchases, robust demand in Asian markets, especially in China, and escalating geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Following this, gold drew attention on Monday after a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed in thick fog on Sunday.
In Singapore, spot gold rose 1.4% to a record $2449.27 per ounce. Silver, palladium, and platinum all rose.
Silver reached its highest level since December 2012 following a strong rally on Friday, driven by the broader physical metals market’s impact on investor demand for materials such as copper.
On the other hand, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat, following a 0.7% drop last week, marking its weakest level in over a month.
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