Gold prices rose to a more than four-month high in Asian trading on Monday, lifted by hopes for a Federal Reserve rate cut this month, while Fed independence and U.S. tariff worries boosted bullion’s safe-haven demand.
Spot Gold rose 0.9% to $3,480.56 an ounce, their highest level since mid-April. Gold Futures for December jumped 1% to $3,551.82/oz by 01:55 ET (05:55 GMT).
Gold prices were set for the fifth consecutive day of sharp gains, after jumping nearly 5% in August.
In other metal markets, silver prices jumped to a 14-year high.
Fed rate cut bets lift gold; US jobs data eyed Investors increased wagers on a rate cut in September after the latest U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index came in largely in line with estimates.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are pricing in close to a 90% chance of a 25 basis point cut this month.
Lower borrowing costs reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as gold, making it attractive.
Attention is now turning to U.S. jobs data due later this week. A weak non-farm payrolls report could strengthen the case for near-term easing, while a stronger reading may force investors to scale back expectations.
Safe-haven flows into gold were also supported by trade policy uncertainty.
A U.S. appeals court last week ruled that many of the Trump era tariffs were illegal, raising questions about the future of duties on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese imports.
The court kept the tariffs in place until Oct. 14 to allow the Trump administration time to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Investors also remained watchful over signs of political pressure on the U.S. central bank. President Donald Trump last week attempted to dismiss Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, citing alleged mortgage fraud from 2021.
Cook has rejected Trump’s authority to remove her and has filed a lawsuit challenging the dismissal.
Silver hits 14-yr high; China PMI in focus Other precious metals were also upbeat on Monday, with Platinum Futures rising 1.3% to $1,346.65/oz.
Silver Futures jumped 1.5% to $41.32/oz, their highest level since August 2024.
Benchmark Copper Futures on the London Metal Exchange were largely unchanged at $9,934.65 a ton, while U.S. Copper Futures edged 0.2% lower to $4.60 a pound.
A private survey in China – the world’s largest copper importer – showed on Monday that China’s factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in five months in August amid easing U.S.-China trade worries.
In contrast to Sunday’s official data showing a fifth month of contraction, the figures signaled early signs of improving Chinese industrial demand.
