New York September 12 2024: Gold prices rose more than 1% to hit a record high on Thursday, helped by expectations of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week after U.S. data signalled a slowing of the economy.
Spot gold was up 1.6% at $2,552.63 per ounce, as of 11:40 a.m. ET (1540 GMT). U.S. gold futures were up 1.5% at $2,581.40.
The U.S. Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 230,000.
U.S. producer prices increased slightly more than expected in August amid higher costs for services, but the trend remained consistent with subsiding inflation.
“We are headed towards a lower interest rate environment so gold is becoming a lot more attractive… I think we could potentially have a lot more frequent cuts as opposed to a bigger magnitude,” said Alex Ebkarian, chief operating officer at Allegiance Gold.
