Gold prices hover near record peaks.
Gold prices rose in Asian trading on Wednesday, holding just below record highs reached in the previous session, as firm expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next week boosted demand.
As of 02:17 ET (06:17 GMT), Spot gold rose 0.5% to $3,646.14 per ounce, after hitting an all-time peak of $3,674.09/oz on Tuesday.
Gold Futures for December were largely steady at $3,684.60/oz after hitting record levels above $3,700 in the prior session.
Year-to-date, gold has surged nearly 40% driven by safe-haven demand due to President Donald Trump’s trade policies and robust central bank demand.
Fed cut bets cemented after US jobs revision
U.S. labor statistics revealed that the economy had created 911,000 fewer jobs over the past year than previously estimated — a sign of softening payroll growth and a cooling labor market.
Oil prices rise after Israeli attack.
Oil prices rose on Wednesday after Israel attacked Hamas leadership in Qatar and U.S. President Donald Trump asked Europe to impose tariffs on buyers of Russian oil buyers, though a weak market outlook capped further gains.
Brent crude futures were up 61 cents, or 0.92%, at$67 a barrel, as of 0620 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 61 cents, or 0.97%, to $63.24 a barrel.
“The current uptick in oil prices has been primarily attributed to an increase in geopolitical risk premiums after Israel’s unprecedented strike in Doha,” said Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst at OANDA. “This increases the fears of a short-term supply crunch if OPEC+ members’ oil production facilities are hit by Israel.”
Prices had settled up 0.6% in the previous trading session after Israel said it had attacked Hamas leadership in Doha, which Qatar’s prime minister said threatened to derail peace talks between Hamas and Israel.
Asia stocks gain, bonds fall.
Asian stocks tracked Wall Street higher on Wednesday, and safe-haven bonds fell as traders firmed up bets that U.S. labour market softness would spur the Federal Reserve to cut rates by at least a quarter point next week.
S&P 500 futures pointed 0.3% higher, while the-European STOXX 50 futures gained 0.2%.
Gold caught its breath after Tuesday’s record high while the dollar was little changed with two crucial days of U.S. inflation figures, starting later on Wednesday, ahead of the Fed’s September 17 decision.
Crude oil continued to rise after Israel’s attack on Hamas leadership in Qatar. Indeed, geopolitical worries remained front and centre of investors’ minds after Poland scrambled its own and NATO air defences to shoot down drones following a Russian air attack on western Ukraine.
Japan’s Nikkei share average added 0.8%, South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 1.7% and Taiwan’s equity benchmark climbed as much as 1.5% to hit a record high.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.3%, while mainland Chinese blue chips rose 0.3%.
Overnight, the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each ended the day at fresh all-time highs.
Traders see a rate cut by the Fed next Wednesday as a sure thing, and even lay 8.4% odds on a super-sized half-point reduction, the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool shows.
A week earlier, markets had assigned a 7% probability on the Fed holding rates steady, but another dismal monthly payroll number last week convinced investors the Fed had no cushion to wait any longer to support the economy.
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