Gold prices hit another record high of $4,170 per ounce on Tuesday, with investors ramping up safe-haven buying amid US-China trade tensions and increased bets of US interest rate cuts. US President Trump last week reignited a trade war with China, threatening a fresh round of tariffs on Chinese goods and imposing export controls. In response, Beijing vowed countermeasures if Trump follows through. Market anxiety also lingered over the prolonged US government shutdown, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said is beginning to affect the economy. Meanwhile, investors are now awaiting remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the NABE annual meeting later today, hoping to gain insights on the US central bank’s rate-cut path. Traders are currently pricing in a 97% probability of a 25bps rate cut in October and a 90% chance for December.
