Gold surged to a fresh high just below 4,200 dollars per ounce on Wednesday, Oct. 15, lifted by growing expectations of further U.S. interest rate cuts and renewed trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. Spot gold rose 1.1% to 4,185.59 dollars an ounce at 06:04 GMT, after hitting a record 4,193.38 dollars earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for Dec. delivery climbed 1% to 4,204.30 dollars, according to Reuters.

“The U.S. government shutdown and dovish remarks from Jerome Powell have provided the latest spark for gold’s rally,” said Matt Simpson, senior analyst at StoneX.

Rate cuts in sight

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. labor market remains weak, though the economy “may be on a somewhat firmer footing than expected.” He emphasized that future rate decisions would be made meeting by meeting, balancing soft labor data against persistent inflation.

Investors now see an almost certain chance of 25-basis-point rate cuts by the Fed in both Oct. and Dec.
Gold, traditionally viewed as a safe haven, has jumped 59% since the start of the year, buoyed by geopolitical uncertainty, rate-cut expectations, strong central bank purchases, global “de-dollarization” trends, and hefty inflows into gold-backed funds.

“This rally has become a momentum trade — investors are piling in just to chase prices higher,” Simpson added.

Trade jitters and broader metals surge

U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington is considering halting certain trade ties with China, including in cooking oil, as both countries imposed new port tariffs this week. The International Monetary Fund raised its 2025 global growth forecast but warned that renewed U.S.–China tensions could dampen that outlook.

Silver gained 1.9% to 52.43 dollars an ounce, after touching a record 53.60 dollars on Tuesday, while platinum rose 0.8% to 1,644.49 dollars and palladium climbed 0.8% to 1,537.19 dollars.