US gold futures for February delivery rose 3.9% to $5,510.50 an ounce
Gold prices jumped sharply in the hours after the precious metal’s contracts closed at a record high on Wednesday, driven by rising demand for safe-haven assets and investors’ assessment of comments by the Federal Reserve chair. 
US gold futures for February delivery rose 3.9%, or $206.5, to $5,510.50 an ounce by 02:58 GMT, after touching $5,584.3 earlier in the session.
That followed a gain of more than 4% on Wednesday, when contracts settled at $5,303.6 an ounce, marking the eighth record close this year.
Silver also climbed, with March futures for the white metal up 3%, or $3.496, at $117.03 an ounce, after hitting a record high of $119.51 earlier in the session.
The moves came as investors continued to flock to safe havens amid weakening demand for the US dollar and heightened economic and geopolitical uncertainty stemming from policies pursued by US President Donald Trump.
In a separate development, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and said in its policy statement that economic activity was growing at a solid pace, with inflation pressures persisting and concerns about the labor market. It added, however, that the current interest rate range was close to a neutral level.
What is behind gold’s strong move?
Traders are looking beyond the Fed’s decision and the chair’s remarks, focusing instead on the possibility of a new central bank chief succeeding Jerome Powell.
One leading candidate is Rick Rieder, an executive at BlackRock, who has advocated deeper interest-rate cuts. Traders are increasing bets on a shift toward looser monetary policy, a backdrop that would benefit non-yielding precious metals such as gold.
US gold futures for February delivery rose 3.9% to $5,510.50 an ounce
Gold prices jumped sharply in the hours after the precious metal’s contracts closed at a record high on Wednesday, driven by rising demand for safe-haven assets and investors’ assessment of comments by the Federal Reserve chair.
US gold futures for February delivery rose 3.9%, or $206.5, to $5,510.50 an ounce by 02:58 GMT, after touching $5,584.3 earlier in the session.
That followed a gain of more than 4% on Wednesday, when contracts settled at $5,303.6 an ounce, marking the eighth record close this year.
Silver also climbed, with March futures for the white metal up 3%, or $3.496, at $117.03 an ounce, after hitting a record high of $119.51 earlier in the session.
The moves came as investors continued to flock to safe havens amid weakening demand for the US dollar and heightened economic and geopolitical uncertainty stemming from policies pursued by US President Donald Trump.
In a separate development, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and said in its policy statement that economic activity was growing at a solid pace, with inflation pressures persisting and concerns about the labor market. It added, however, that the current interest rate range was close to a neutral level.
What is behind gold’s strong move?
Traders are looking beyond the Fed’s decision and the chair’s remarks, focusing instead on the possibility of a new central bank chief succeeding Jerome Powell.
One leading candidate is Rick Rieder, an executive at BlackRock, who has advocated deeper interest-rate cuts. Traders are increasing bets on a shift toward looser monetary policy, a backdrop that would benefit non-yielding precious metals such as gold.
