Gold Surges as Investors Anticipate Interest Rate Cuts

28 Aug 2024 , 10:54 AM

On Wednesday, gold prices barely moved from their record high, which was reached last week due to the Middle East crisis-driven demand for safe haven assets and the expectation of impending rate cuts by the US.

Spot gold was unchanged at $2,524.88 an ounce. On August 20, gold reached a record high of $2,531.60.

Gold Futures increased by 0.3% to $2,560.20.

According to meeting minutes, members of the boards of directors in charge of the Federal Reserve banks in Chicago and New York approved a reduction in the central bank’s discount rate by a quarter of a percentage point in July.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders have fully priced in a Fed easing for next month, with a 67% chance of a 25 basis point drop and roughly a 33% possibility of a larger 50 basis point reduction.

In the meantime, two security sources told Reuters that a pickup truck traveling in northeastern Lebanon was struck by an Israeli air attack late on Tuesday. One of the sources claimed the truck was carrying military hardware.

Bullion tends to flourish in an atmosphere with low interest rates and is regarded as a hedge against geopolitical and economic risks.

In other news, optimism about the future of the economy led to a six-month high in U.S. consumer confidence in August.

Investors are now waiting for Friday’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data, which is the Fed’s favored measure of inflation.

Spot silver remained mostly unchanged at $29.99 per ounce, while palladium increased by 0.2% to $971.95 and platinum increased by 0.6% to $959.21.

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