Gold has surged again, surpassing the $2,000 mark, with a new record high looking likely in the coming days. Both futures of the yellow metal on New York’s Comex and bullion traded on the spot gold market surged by around 2% on Tuesday, which represents their most significant gains in nearly two weeks. Analysts believe that the latest upswing in gold is an indication that traders remain confident that U.S. interest rates are at their peak or near it, with a possible decline expected later this year.
If gold continues on this upward trend, it could bring record highs of $2,070 into sharp focus, but this would depend on interest rate expectations being pared back even further and an increase in risk aversion in the markets. The record high for futures stands at $2,078.80, while the all-time peak for the spot price is at $2,072.90. Experts believe that the next station is located at $2,040, a level that futures have already breached.
According to Sunil Kumar Dixit, chief technical strategist at SKCharting.com, the next leg higher of $2,060 will bring us closer to the record high that looks increasingly certain by the day. However, there are fears that if the price falls below $2,010, it could push down towards support areas of $2,000 and $1,990 on the spot market.
The surge in gold prices on Tuesday followed data revealing that U.S. job openings slipped to 9.9 million in February, the fewest since May 2021, amid signs that the job market may be starting to cool. This news was welcomed by inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve. Over the past 13 months, the Fed has added 475 basis points to U.S. rates, bringing them to a peak of 5%.
Before Tuesday’s job openings data, there were bets that the Fed would resort to at least one more hike in May to further cool headline inflation, which expanded at 6% per annum in January versus the central bank’s target of 2%. However, following the data release, money markets traders, followed by Investing.com, began betting that the Fed may be done with its hiking cycle. The latest reading of Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool showed only a 42.2% probability of the central bank raising another quarter point in rates in May, with bets for a stay at 57.8%.
