Gold hits fresh record high on Trump jitters, rate-cut bets

Agencies and staff reporter

Gold once surged to a record high of US$2,482 (HK$19,344) per ounce yesterday amid market uncertainty over a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the US and bets of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

Spot gold was trading at US$2,473.89 per ounce after hitting an all-time high of US$2,482.29 earlier in the session.

US gold futures gained 0.4 percent to US$2,478.50.

"It seems like it's evident that the Federal Reserve is going to cut rates in September and that, coupled with the concept of the de-dollarization of how central banks have been buying more gold versus the US Treasury yields, are currently the catalyst that is driving gold to these highs" said Alex Ebkarian, chief operating officer at Allegiance Gold.

Fed chair Jerome Powell said earlier this week that recent inflation readings "add somewhat to confidence" that the pace of price increases is returning to the central bank's target in a sustainable fashion. The rate cut hopes helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the US to surge over 700 points on Tuesday.

Hong Kong stocks, however, only posted small gains yesterday over concerns about heightened Sino-US tensions brought by a possible second Trump term. The Hang Seng Index edged up 11 points, 0.06 percent, to close at 17,739 points yesterday. The Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.5 percent.

In money markets, the onshore inched up 11 basis points to close at 7.2651 per US dollar.

This came as the Asian Development Bank maintained its forecast of China's economic growth at 4.8 percent this year despite concerns over the property market while lifting the estimates for the whole Asia-Pacific region to 5 percent. Standard Chartered Bank also kept its growth forecast for the country's economy at 4.8 percent for 2024.

In other news, China's central bank started a fresh round of checks on bond investments at banks as it prepares to cool a record-breaking rally, according to people familiar with the matter.

Local branches of the People's Bank of China have sent inquiries to regional lenders in at least three provinces, including Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Jilin, asking about their outstanding positions, holding structures, and leverage, said the people.