Gold roared to a fresh record above $3,500 an ounce on Tuesday as traders bet the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this month.
Spot gold briefly surged past $3,508 in New York trading, eclipsing April’s intraday peak, before hovering near $3,600 late morning.
The metal is up roughly a third in 2025, outpacing most major assets as investors rotate toward havens and away from rate-sensitive trades.
“Investors adding to gold allocations, especially as Fed rate cuts loom, are pushing prices higher,” UBS strategist Joni Teves told Bloomberg News.
“Our base case is that gold continues to make new highs over the coming quarters.”
The surge in the price of gold is being driven by expectations that Fed Chair Jerome Powell will deliver the first rate cut since December 2024 at the Sept. 16–17 meeting.
Powell “opened the door” in his Jackson Hole remarks, while promising to “proceed carefully,” a signal that helped solidify bets on easier policy.
A cooler labor markethas only reinforced the case.
The next jobs report, which is slated for release this coming Friday, will likely give a clearer indications as to which direction the Fed will go.
Silver joined the party, sprinting through $40 an ounce for the first time since 2011 and notching nearly 40% gains year-to-date.
The white metal has a double tailwind: it rides gold’s safe-haven bid and benefits from industrial demand tied to solar and other clean-energy build-outs.
Meanwhile, ETF buying has climbed for seven straight months, helping drain readily available inventories in London and keeping lease rates unusually elevated.
Wall Street kicked off September on shaky ground as stocks slumped and bond yields spiked, amplifying investor jitters that have fueled demand for haven assets like gold.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 441 points, or 1%, while the S&P 500 fell 1.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 1.6%, marking its first back-to-back 1% drop since President Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs in April.
Treasury yields climbed sharply, with the 10-year note hitting 4.28% and the 30-year yield edging near 5%, as traders weighed the possibility that Washington may need to refund billions in tariff revenue following a stinging legal defeat for the White House.
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that most of Trump’s global tariffs were unconstitutional, asserting that only Congress has the authority to impose such levies.
Trump blasted the decision as “Highly Partisan” and vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The uncertainty surrounding trade policy, combined with the prospect of a worsening fiscal picture, has intensified a risk-off mood.
Investors also pointed to seasonal weakness as a factor. September has historically been Wall Street’s worst month, with the S&P 500 averaging a 4.2% decline over the past five years.
Analysts say stretched valuations, coupled with higher borrowing costs, could create headwinds for equities even after a strong August that saw the index notch five record closes and climb above 6,500 for the first time.
While stocks retreated, bitcoin inched back above $111,000 but continued to lag behind gold’s rally, highlighting a flight to traditional safe havens.
