REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin
The price of gold pushed past its all-time high on Tuesday, as the Federal Reserve and Donald Trump help boost the metal.
Prices surged 1.77% as of 2 p.m. ET, reaching over $2,465 per ounce. The fresh high outpaced the peak in May of $2,450 per ounce, and comes as the metal has climbed 6% this month.
According to JPMorgan, that's because rising confidence in lower interest rates is a boon for gold: the metal is a non-interest bearing asset, and outperforms when rates eventually fall.
The bank expects the Fed to slash rates starting in September, joining a chorus of similar Wall Street forecasts. Encouraging the outlook was June's benign consumer price index report, which saw inflation decline 0.1% month-to-month.
"Our analysts remain bullish on gold prices into year-end, seeing prices rising towards $2,500/oz in 4Q24 as the onset of a Fed cutting cycle restokes western investor demand via both futures and ETF holdings, driving the next leg higher in prices," JPMorgan said.
Last week's gold market inflows reached their highest in eight weeks, totaling $10.9 billion, the bank said.
Meanwhile, the looming US election has also become a factor in gold's uptick.
Sources told The Financial Times that a second Trump term is a chief tailwind for gold. The metal might seem more appealing amid Trump's tariff and tax policies, they said, which could boost inflation and deepen the budget deficit.
In a note, UBS added that near-term political uncertainty could create market swings that make gold more attractive, amplifying its role as a safe haven asset.
For now, technical measures indicate growing upside momentum for gold, with no signs of overbought levels, Trade Nation's David Morrison wrote on Tuesday.
"Yet buyers could decide to exercise some caution, given the sudden price plunges that have appeared to come out of nowhere," the senior market analyst said. "We've seen these on several occasions, most recently in April, May and June."
