By Ashitha Shivaprasad and Brijesh Patel
(Reuters) – Gold prices raced to a record high on Thursday, within touching distance of the key milestone of $3,000 per ounce with momentum driven by elevated tariff uncertainty and bets on monetary policy easing by the Federal Reserve.
Spot gold climbed 1.6% to $2,977.36 an ounce, as of 12:25 ET (1625 GMT) – its twelfth record peak to date in 2025.
Prices are up nearly 14% so far this year after a solid 27% gain in 2024.
U.S.
gold futures rose 1.4% to $2,989.
“Gold is in a secular bull market. We forecast prices to trade between $3,000-$3,200 this year,” said Alex Ebkarian, chief operating officer at Allegiance Gold.
U.S.
President Donald Trump’s fluctuating trade policies have helped gold, an asset preferred by investors amid geopolitical and economic turmoil. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said a recession would be “worth it” to get Trump’s economic policies in place.
Next on the radar is the U.S.
Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting. The central bank is expected to keep its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range next Wednesday.
“The potential impact of the tariff and trade threats are impossible to model, forcing the Fed to gauge economic data to help it determine its next move,” said John Ciampaglia, CEO of Sprott Asset Management.
“We believe the Fed is stuck in a wait-and-see state.”
The central bank has reduced rates by 100 basis points since September, but paused its easing cycle in January.
Traders expect the U.S. central bank to resume cutting borrowing costs in June. [FEDWATCH]
Data from the U.S. Labor Department showed producer prices were unexpectedly unchanged in February, while consumer price index rose 0.2% last month after accelerating 0.5% in January.
“Strong ETF demand and continued central bank buying in a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty and the continued uncertainty created by tariff changes has really continued to stoke appetite for gold,” said Standard Chartered analyst Suki Cooper.
SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund (ETF), said its holdings rose to 907.82 metric tons on February 25, the highest since August 2023.
[GOL/ETF]
Meanwhile, China continued its gold purchases for the fourth consecutive month in February, the People’s Bank of China data showed.
Elsewhere, spot silver rose 1.7% to $33.79 per ounce.
“A strong breakout above $33.30 could open the doors toward $34 for silver,” said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM.
Platinum gained 0.9% to $993, while palladium added 0.8% to $956.85.
(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad, Sarah Qureshi, Brijesh Patel and Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
