Gold broke through $4,600/ounce for the first time on Monday, while silver also jumped to an all-time high, bolstered by geopolitical and economic uncertainties and growing bets of U.S. interest rate cuts.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was up 1.5% at $4,478.79 per ounce, as of 0127 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of $4,600.33 earlier in the session.
* U.S. gold futures for February delivery firmed 2% to $4,591.10.
* Unrest in Iran has killed more than 500 people, a rights group said on Sunday, as Tehran threatened to target U.S. military bases if President Donald Trump carries out his renewed threats to strike the country on behalf of protesters.
* Iran’s unrest comes as Trump flexes U.S. muscles internationally, having ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and discussing acquiring Greenland by purchase or force.
* U.S. employment growth slowed more than expected in December, data showed on Friday, amid job losses in the construction, retail and manufacturing sectors.
* However, a decline in the unemployment rate suggested the labour market was not rapidly deteriorating.
* Investors currently expect at least two Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. A softer job market makes rate cuts more likely.
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Sunday the Trump administration had threatened him with a criminal indictment and served grand jury subpoenas over Congressional testimony he gave last summer regarding a Fed building renovation project, an action Powell called a “pretext” aimed at putting further pressure on the central bank to lower rates.
* Non-yielding assets tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and during geopolitical or economic uncertainties.
* Gold prices could rise to $5,000 an ounce in the first half of 2026 on rising geopolitical risks and debt, HSBC said.
* Spot silver rose 4.4% to $83.50 per ounce after hitting an all-time high of $83.96 earlier in the day.
* Spot platinum added 2.9% to $2,338.54 per ounce after scaling a record peak of $2,478.50 on December 29.
* Palladium gained 4.2% to $1,892.18 per ounce