Safe-haven gold edged higher on Monday after hitting the $3,000-mark last week for the first time, while the market's focus shifted to the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting this week. Spot gold added 0.2% to $2,991.13 an ounce, as of 0924 GMT. Prices hit a record high of $3,004.86 on Friday amid geopolitical uncertainty.
Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here. U.S. gold futures eased 0.1% to $2,998.90. "We expect prices to edge higher on a similar trajectory with dips bought as FOMO (fear of missing out) trades support the market," said Ross Norman, an independent analyst.
"In short, we would be surprised not to see the $3,150 level in the coming months much as we had forecasted - albeit much quicker than we had anticipated."
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that there are "no guarantees" there will not be a recession in the United States, adding to investor worries of an impending economic downturn due to the U.S. President's trade policies. "Short term, we acknowledge that the market has drifted into technical overbought territory, but think the prevailing mood among investors remains one of caution for U.S. equities and confidence in gold," UBS said in a note.
U.S. stock markets closed down sharply last week amid mounting uncertainties arising from tariff threats against the biggest U.S. trading partners. Markets now await the Fed's monetary policy meeting on Wednesday for clues on the interest rate trajectory. The Fed is widely expected to keep rates on hold after having reduced them by 100 basis points since September.
Bullion tends to do well in a low interest rate environment and is also seen as a hedge against geopolitical turmoil, economic uncertainties, and inflation. Spot silver shed 0.2% to $33.71 an ounce, platinum steadied at $993.01, and palladium gained 0.5% to $969.78.
