Gold Surges Past $4,300, Set for Best Weekly Rally Since 2008
Gold soared to a fresh record above $4,300 an ounce on Friday, on track for its biggest weekly gain in more than 17 years. Fears over US regional banks, trade frictions, and expectations of interest rate cuts prompted investors to seek safety in the precious metal, Reuters reports.
As of 06:15 GMT, spot gold rose 0.8% to $4,359.31 per ounce after hitting an all-time high of $4,378.69 earlier in the session. US gold futures for December delivery advanced 1.6% to $4,372.10. Bullion has jumped around 8.6% this week, recording its best performance since September 2008 in every trading session.
Spot silver was little changed at $54.26 per ounce but remains set for an 8% weekly rise after touching a record $54.35 earlier.
Rate-cut Expectations and US-China Trade Tensions
Tim Waterer, Chief Market Analyst at KCM Trade, said: «$4,500 could arrive as a sooner-than-expected target, but much may depend upon how long concerns about US-China trade and the government shutdown linger over the market.»
The rally came as China accused the United States of spreading panic over its rare earth export controls, while rejecting calls to ease restrictions. At the same time, US Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller signalled support for another rate cut amid signs of labour market weakness. Markets now anticipate a 25-basis-point reduction at the Fed’s October meeting, followed by another in December.
Wall Street ended lower on Thursday, as weakness in regional banks added to investor unease over trade tensions.
«The flare-up in US regional bank credit concerns has given traders one more reason to buy gold,» Waterer added.
Non-yielding gold, which benefits from lower interest rates, has surged over 65% this year, driven by geopolitical tensions, expectations of rate cuts, central bank buying, de-dollarisation, and strong exchange-traded fund inflows.
On the geopolitical front, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to hold another summit on the war in Ukraine, while Western nations, including the United Kingdom, tightened sanctions on Russian oil firms.
Elsewhere, platinum slipped 0.7% to $1,699.45 and palladium edged down 0.2% to $1,611.24, though both metals were still heading for weekly gains.
Prices in Uzbekistan
In Uzbekistan, the Central Bank reported that as of October 17, the price of a five-gram gold bar reached a record 8.8 mln soums ($723.71). Current prices value a 10-gram bar at 17.6 mln soums ($1,447.33), a 20-gram bar at 35.2 mln soums ($2,894.75), a 50-gram bar at 88 mln soums ($7,236.83), and a 100-gram bar at over 176 mln soums ($14,473.57).
