By Rahul Paswan
(Reuters) – Gold prices surged to a record high on Wednesday as the conflicts in the Middle East and uncertainty surrounding the upcoming U.S. election spurred demand for safe-haven assets.
Spot gold hit an all-time high at $2749.07, before easing by 0.3% to $2,738.79 per ounce as of 0313 GMT, amid some profit-taking.
U.S. gold futures were 0.2% lower to $2,753.40.
Gold’s rally comes despite the rival U.S. dollar clinging to a more than two-month peak. [USD/]
Gold and the dollar are enjoying safe-haven buying flows due to event-risks in the form of next month’s U.S. election and ongoing geopolitical risks, Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said in a note.
Democratic U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris held a marginal 46% to 43% lead over Republican former President Donald Trump, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
In the Middle East, Israel confirmed it had killed Hashem Safieddine, the heir apparent to late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah who was killed last month.
Bullion has gained more than 33% this year and scaled multiple records, driven by global uncertainties and a looser monetary policy environment.
And while the Federal Reserve started its rate-easing cycle with a 50-basis-point cut last month, the odds of a similar move in November have faded entirely, with traders now seeing a 92% chance of a quarter-basis-point cut, the CME FedWatch tool showed.
Spot silver fell 0.7% to $34.58 per ounce, after hitting its highest level since late 2012 at $34.87 in the previous session.
Platinum rose 0.5% at $1,033.75 and palladium dropped 0.2% to $1,073.80.
(Reporting by Rahul Paswan and Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
