Gold 
“The price of gold pushed to a new record high on Tuesday, with a spate of macroeconomic catalysts in the coming days likely to usher in more moves for the precious metal and notable haven asset.
Front-month futures for gold traded in New York rose 0.4% on Tuesday to $2,125 per troy ounce, an all-time high after the yellow metal closed above $2,100 on Monday for the first time ever.
“It’s worth noting that in real terms, gold is still some way beneath its other peaks, such as in 1980, 2011 and 2020,” said Jim Reid, a strategist at Deutsche Bank, referencing higher prior levels for gold when adjusted for inflation, which is relevant since many investors seek the metal as a haven asset to protect against faster consumer-price growth.
A number of factors have supported the recent rally in gold — chief among them expectations for U.S. interest rates — and catalysts lie in the days ahead that could see further swings in the price of the precious metal.
“Concerns surrounding global economic prospects, geopolitical tensions, and shifting expectations towards earlier interest rate cuts have fuelled increased demand,” said Ricardo Evangelista, an analyst at broker ActivTrades. “U.S. interest rates stand out as the primary risk factor influencing gold prices.”
Gold is sensitive to expectations for short-term U.S. interest rates, with lower rates tending to buoy the price of gold, which has no yield. Traders in recent days have increased bets that the Federal Reserve will lower rates sooner rather than later, with the odds that borrowing costs will come down by June rising to 65% on Tuesday, up from around 55% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
“Potential upside is constrained by uncertainty surrounding the Federal Reserve’s plans to unwind its restrictive monetary policy,” said Evangelista. “Given this backdrop, this week’s data releases, including U.S. services PMI and labor figures, along with Jerome Powell’s testimony to the U.S. Congress, will be closely monitored by traders, likely impacting gold prices accordingly.”
Any significant change to investors’ rate expectations will not only shift the S&P 500 in the stock market, but is likely to leak over into gold — for better or worse for the goldbugs.”
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