Traders are still pricing in a quarter-point rate cut this month, which should benefit gold as it doesn’t pay interest.
Gold clinched a fresh record high — pushing closer to US$4,000 (45167.14) an ounce — as the US government shutdown and a political crisis in France injected more uncertainty into financial markets.
Bullion rose to US$3,977.44 an ounce after surging 1.9% on Monday. The suspension in federal operations that’s now stretching into a second week has deprived investors of key data needed to assess the health of the US economy, while the US Federal Reserve struggles to assess changing conditions.
