Bullion for immediate delivery was held near $3,530 an ounce, after climbing as much as 1.8% to a new peak of $3,540.04. The metal’s safe-haven demand has been boosted by a risk-off mood across financial markets, with renewed concerns over the Federal Reserve’s future and budget concerns in developed-world countries pressuring shares and long-dated government bonds.
Gold has risen more than a third this year, making it one of the best-performing major commodities. The latest run has been propelled by expectations that the US central bank will lower rates this month, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell cautiously opened the door to a reduction. A key US jobs report this Friday is likely to add to signs of an increasingly subdued labour market — supporting the case for rate cuts. Lower interest rate environments tend to benefit non-yielding bullion.
Both gold and silver have more than doubled over the past three years, with mounting risks in the spheres of geopolitics, the economy, and global trade driving increased demand for the time-honoured haven assets.
An escalation in President Donald Trump’s attacks against the Fed this year has increased concerns over the central bank’s independence being under threat.
Markets are now waiting for a landmark ruling on whether Trump has legitimate grounds to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook from the central bank. If deemed legal, the move would allow the president to replace her with a dovish-leaning official.
Investors are also anticipating an announcement from the White House over their selection for the next Fed Chair when Powell steps down from his role in May. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will start interviewing candidates on Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Separately, Trump said his administration would ask the Supreme Court for an expedited ruling in hopes of overturning a federal court decision that many of his tariffs were illegally imposed. The legal setback has increased uncertainty for American importers and also potentially delays the economic dividends promised by the administration.
Gold’s impressive performance in 2025 has been surpassed by silver. The metal is up about 40% so far this year, with prices on Monday breaching $40 an ounce for the first time since 2011.
Silver is also valued for its industrial uses in clean-energy technologies, including solar panels. Against that backdrop, the market is headed for a fifth year of deficits, according to the Silver Institute.
Investors have piled into silver-backed exchange-traded funds, with holdings expanding for a seventh consecutive month in August. That’s drawn down stockpiles of freely available metal in London, leading to persistent tightness in the market. Lease rates—which reflect the cost of borrowing metal, generally for a short period of time — remain elevated at around 2%, well above their normal levels of close to zero.
Spot gold edged 0.1% lower to $3,529.33 an ounce as of 7:24 a.m. in Singapore, after ending Tuesday 1.6% higher. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady, following a 0.5% gain in the previous session. Silver was steady at $40.8866 an ounce. Platinum was flat, while palladium rose.