By Sarah Qureshi
Jan 22 (Reuters) – Gold pushed past $4,900 per ounce for the first time on Thursday, powered by ongoing geopolitical tensions, a softer U.S. dollar and expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, while silver and platinum prices hit fresh record highs.
Spot gold climbed to a record peak of $4,917.65 per ounce, as of 01:51 p.m. ET (18:51 GMT).
U.S. gold futures for February delivery settled 1.6% higher to $4,913.4 per ounce.
The U.S. dollar slipped 0.4%, making greenback-priced bullion more attractive to overseas buyers. [USD/]
“Geopolitical tensions, generally weak dollar, expectations for the Fed easing this year are all factors that are part and parcel of the macro de-dollarisation trend and are still impacting the demand (for gold),” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he had secured total and permanent U.S. access to Greenland in a deal with NATO, whose head said allies would have to step up their commitment to Arctic security to ward off threats from Russia and China.
But the details of any agreement were unclear and Denmark insisted its sovereignty over the island was not up for discussion.
On the data front, the latest U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report showed consumer spending increasing in November and October, indicating a third straight quarter of strong growth.
Markets anticipate the U.S. central bank will implement two quarter-percentage point rate cuts in the latter half of the year, raising non-yielding gold’s appeal.
“Short-term setbacks will be viewed as buying opportunities (for gold). We have been seeing the $5,000/oz level nearby and beyond that Fibonacci projection of $5,187.79/oz looks plausible,” Grant added.
Elsewhere, spot silver surged to a record high of $96.58/oz.
“Silver has a far more compelling fundamental narrative than gold.. Maybe it’s not a reserve asset in the way that gold is, but it still benefits from safe-haven flows, and dollar weakness,” said Nikos Tzabouras, senior market analyst at Tradu.
Spot platinum rose 4.6% to a record high of $2,601.03.Palladium was up 3.3% to $1,900.59.
(Reporting by Sarah Qureshi and Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Joe Bavier and Shailesh Kuber)
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