By Ishaan Arora
(Reuters) -Gold rose on Thursday as geopolitical and economic tensions heightened safe-haven demand, while investors awaited U.S. economic data for clues on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy trajectory.
Spot gold was up 0.6% at $3,756.29 per ounce, as of 0857 GMT, after hitting a record high of $3,790.82 on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 0.5% to $3,787.0.
U.S. President Donald Trump, in a sudden shift, said on Tuesday that he believed Ukraine could retake all its land occupied by Russia.
“Investors don’t see enough fiscal stability on the U.S. side and overall if you think about the trade war, about tensions with Russia and the Middle East, it’s easy to understand why gold is surging,” said Carlo Alberto De Casa, external analyst at banking group Swissquote.
San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly said on Wednesday that she “fully supported” last week’s rate cut and expects further reductions, while Fed Chair Powell struck a more cautious tone.
Markets broadly expect two more 25-basis-point U.S. rate cuts this year in October and December. [FEDWATCH]
Investors now await the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index report, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, due on Friday. The report is expected to show a month-on-month rise of 0.3% for August and 2.7% year-on-year increase, according to a Reuters poll.
“If the economic data comes in as the market has expected, that at least indicates that the market is on the right track towards the Fed easing (rates) providing support for gold,” Quantitative Commodity Research analyst Peter Fertig said.
Safe-haven bullion tends to thrive in a low-interest rate environment.
Weekly U.S. jobless claims data, due later in the day, may provide additional insights into labour market conditions.
Among other metals, spot silver rose 2% to $44.76 per ounce, platinum gained 2% to $1,501.69 and palladium rose 1.8% to $1,231.21.
(Reporting by Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
